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From the Chandos Portrait in the National Portrait Gallery, London 



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SHAKESPEARE QUESTIONS 

AN OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY 
OF THE LEADING PLAYS 



BT 

ODELL SHEPARD 




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BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
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COPYRIGHT, I916, BY ODKLL SHEPARD 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

, R. L. S. 246 



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Wtit SliberKibe $re«K 

CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS 
U . S . A 

MAY 12 1916 



TO 
PAUL SPENCER WOOD 



CONTENTS 

Introduction 1 

A Midsummer Night's Dream 5 '^ 

Richard II 11 "^ 

Henry IV, Part I 21i^' 

Henry IV, Part II 37 

Henry V 49 

Romeo and Juliet 60 

Julius CiESAR 73 

Merchant of Venice 82*^ 

Much Ado About Nothing 93 

As You Like It 105 U- 

Twelfth Night 115 y/" 

Hamlet 126k 

Othello 14:6 k 

King Lear 158 ^ 

Macbeth 172 

coriolanus 184 ^ 

Antony and Cleopatra 196 

The Tempest 208^ 



SHAKESPEARE QUESTIONS 
INTKODUCTION 

It would be easy to expect more from this book than it 
is designed to give. It offers little criticism or information 
and it is not intended for use to the exclusion of lectures, 
books of reference, or notes. Indeed, it avoids, in as far as 
possible, the material commonly found in these indispensable 
helps and guides to the study of Shakespeare. It cannot 
take the place of a gifted interpreter nor can it make the 
men and women of the plays live and move before an inert 
mind or a listless imagination. It is primarily analytical in 
method, and although much has been done in the general 
questions to insure a comprehensive view of each play, the 
work of final synthesis has been left, as it always must be 
left, to the individual student. 

I am aware of many objections that may be urged against 
a book such as the present, but I have yet to discover any 
method of teaching and studying Shakespeare as effective 
as the one upon which the book is based. The pure lecture 
system leaves the student too much upon his own resources 
and gives that impression of haziness and generality which 
leads to frequent and legitimate complaints against some 
methods of teaching English literature. The use of wide 
collateral reading is essential to the success of any method, 
but every teacher of the plays knows the danger of losing 
sight of Shakespeare while threading the jungle of Shake- 
spearean scholarship. Reliance upon notes, dissection of the 
plays line by line and word by word - in disconnection dead 
and spiritless," use of the text as an exercise-book in ety- 
mology, phonetics, antiquities, and prosody, is probably the 
worst method of all. In this outline I have tried to steer a 
middle course between the Scylla of sestheticism and the 
Chary bdis of pedantry — with the result, quite possibly, of 



2 INTRODUCTION 

splintering my keel upon both. I have kept one mark, how- 
ever, pretty steadily in view. I have asked myself repeat- 
edly : Would Shakespeare himself be interested in this 
question ? Did he give this matter any thought, or should 
he have done so ? I hope I have asked few questions to 
which the poet could not have given an intelligible answer. 
This book represents an attempt to correct the American 
student's aversion to hard, independent thinking on literary 
matters — an aversion which has been fostered, at least, by 
the multiplication of annotated editions and critical supple- 
ments, and by the pure lecture method. After using this 
outline of study for several years in college classes and 
Shakespeare clubs, I feel justified in saying that it gives 
definition, purpose, and direction to a subject which, in my 
own teaching at least, is too likely to vanish into the thin air 
of abstract theorizing or to die out in the thirsty sands of 
mere fact-peddling. The outline insures at least two read- 
ings of each play. It fixes the student's attention upon mat- 
ters of real importance. It forces him to go back and back 
to the text, not to an encyclopaedia, until he is thoroughly 
familiar with each play in its general aspects and in its more 
important details. It provides numerous cross-references 
from act to act and from play to play which are intended to 
acquaint the learner with Shakespeare's whole work, to give 
him some notions of the growth of the poet's mind and art, 
and, incidentally, to show that we often need not only an 
act or a play, but an epoch, in order to explain a single 
word. The outline makes the student's work and results 
more definite and tangible than they often are, and yet, un- 
less I have failed completely in my purpose, it leaves the 
play a living thing. Most important of all, the student is 
constituted his own critic, though he is still under guidance. 
He is asked at every turn, not to record the opinion of some 
other student of the play or the conflicting opinions of a 
score of others, but to base an intelligent, defensible opinion 
of his own upon the evidence he can gather from the text. 
Other methods give other results, but this seems to me the 
only method f orthe beginner as it should be the chief method 
used by the finished Shakespearean scholar. 



INTRODUCTION 3 

A few words should be said about the use of the book in 
the classroom. It is the writer's custom to insist that all 
answers be written out so that they may be read from the 
notebook in recitation and to refuse to give credit for any 
answer not so given. This eliminates all stammering, ex- 
temporaneous replies and renders the answers more direct 
and specific than they could otherwise be. Necessarily, the 
questions are of widely varying difficulty. While they are 
not, for the most part, too difficult for students of high- 
school age, they have been used successfully with graduate 
students. They should be selected and graded by the in- 
structor to suit the needs and maturity of his class. I have 
marked with an asterisk those questions which, because of 
their difficulty or because of the time they demand, should 
be assigned to individual students for special study and re- 
port. It may be found advantageous to assign others in this 
way. There are some questions, and those not the least 
valuable, which cannot be definitely and finally answered, 
but the value of class discussion of such moot points is ob- 
vious. The general questions should be considered in full 
before the set of detailed questions is taken up and a short 
interval should then be allowed for the second reading of 
the play. 

The line-numbering used in this book is that of the Globe 
edition. It is employed in the Temple, the Tudor, and the 
Arden editions and in the editions of Neilson and Herford. 
It is recorded on each page of the First Folio edition, and 
is recognized as standard in modern books of reference. 
Professor W. A. Neilson's Cambridge Poets edition, which 
provides an excellent text of extraordinary accuracy to- 
gether with compact but sufficient introductions, is the one 
which I have used in preparing this outline as well as in 
the classroom. There is an obvious advantage in the use of 
a single volume containing the poet's entire work. 

My choice of the plays which I have treated has been 
determined by the needs of the average classroom and by 
the necessity that the book be kept as brief as possible. 

For reasons of space, I have omitted all discussion of 
Shakespeare's dealing with source material. This omission 



4 INTRODUCTION 

would be a very grave one if it were not so easily repaired. 
By careful study of the sources of As You Like It, Henry 
IV, and Othello, or of any comedy, chronicle, and tragedy, 
the needs of all but the most advanced students should be 
met. I have purposely avoided frequent appeal to books of 
reference, criticism, and antiquities because I have wished 
to send the student constantly to the text as the last and 
best authority. A small number of books, of course, is in- 
dispensable, even for the beginner. 

Any one who has penetrated even a little way into the 
thicket of Shakespearean scholarship finds his indebtedness 
too complex to record. I have compiled these questions with 
few books immediately at hand, thinking it best to subject 
myself to the same reliance upon the text which I have been 
engaged in recommending to others. I am especially in- 
debted, however, to Professor A. H. Tolman's Questions on 
Shakespeare for the idea of including both general and de- 
tailed questions as well as for several hints as to the best 
use of such an outline as this in the classroom. It will be 
seen, however, that the scope and purpose of the present 
book are very different from those of Professor Tolman's 
work, which is in several volumes and includes a large body 
of critical and textual apparatus. 

Odell Shepard. 

March 4, 1916. 



A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. Enumerate the actions or stories of the play. Which is 
the main and which the enveloping action ? State the 
artistic purpose of this enveloping action. Compare, for 
effectiveness and harmony of tone, the enveloping action 
of A Comedy of Errors. Outline the method of passage 
from the real to the dream world in Act I. 

2. Are the several actions harmonious one with another ? 
What action is used for purposes of contrast ? Name 
two distinct dramatic functions of the Bottom group. 

3. Do you agree with Dowden's opinion that Theseus is 
the central figure of the play and the spring of its 
action ? If not, who is ? 

4. At what time of the year does the action take place ? 
What amount of time is indicated for the action in the 
first speeches of Act I ? Is this the amount of time that 
actually does elapse ? Try to explain discrepancies. 

5. What evidences of immaturity do you find ? What evi- 
dences of mature and masterly workmanship ? Explain 
fully. Did rhymed lines and stichomythia increase or 
decrease with the poet's development ? Point out and 
comment upon several cases of artificial, mechanical 
balance between characters and between actions. What 
effect did the poet try to secure by this artificial balance ? 
What takes its place in his mature work ? 

6. What different kinds of verse are employed? For what 
special purposes and effects is each kind used ? Does 
the verse form seem wisely chosen in all cases ? For 
what effects does the poet use prose ? Do you note any 
variation from the normal iambic beat of the verse ? 
When is it used ? Compare the Weird Sisters scenes in 
Macbeth and many of the songs and charms in The 
Tempest, 



6 A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM 

*7. In what way does this play show a marked technical 
and artistic advance upon the three earlier comedies? 
What general features has it in common with any or 
all of these ? In what ways does it resemble opera and 
the Elizabethan masque ? 

*8. This play created a new fairy world — the one with 
which we are now most familiar. How does its treat- 
ment of fairy life differ from that which preceded, as 
preserved in Milton's L' Allegro ? Select five passages 
of special poetic magic and charm. Be prepared to ex- 
plain your choice. 



DETAILED QUESTIONS 

1,1. 

1. What two actions are introduced and how are they 
welded together? 

2. Point out at least one case of anachronism. 

3. Are the motives governing the action of this scene al- 
ways clear and convincing ? 

1,2. 

1. What preparation has been made for the action of this 
scene ? 
*2. Are the members of the Bottom group Athenian in 
character and manner ? Is this a fault ? Discuss fully. 
Mention other plays with foreign setting in which the 
same thing is seen. Would these fellows seem strange 
or familiar to Shakespeare's London audience ? How 
would their presence affect that audience's acceptance 
of the play's legendary and supernatural elements? 

3. Define and distinguish the characters of the men in the 
Bottom group. 

4. Show that the poet has in mind local London stage 
conditions in this scene. 



* Asterisks indicate questions which, in the author's opinion, are of sufficient 
difficulty to warrant their assignment to individual students for special research 
and report. Other questions should, in general, be prepared by the entire class. 



A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM 7 

*5. Classify Bottom's blunders in speech. Compare them 
with those of Launce in Two Gentlemen of Verona, with 
those of the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, with those of 
Mistress Quickly in IIITenri/ IV and those of Dogberry 
in Much Ado. Do you find that these five characters 
make errors of the same general sort? Where did the 
poet acquire his erudition in this field ? Is it displayed 
appropriately in a play dealing with legendary Athens? 
6. Compare all the remarks about the moon in this act. 
Comment. 

11,1. 

1. How is the new action here introduced related to what 
precedes ? 

2. Why is this scene placed immediately after that dealing 
with the Bottom group ? 

3. How are the affairs of Oberon's court related to those 
of the human characters? 

4. Define the character and functions of Puck. What prep- 
aration for later events is made in his boasting? Does 
Puck seem like the other fairies in all things ? 

*5. Study carefully the notes in the Furness Variorum edi- 
tion upon 88-117 and 148-169. Make a defensible 
theory of your own on each of the problems involved. 
6. Criticize the character of Helena as developed late in 
the scene. What excuse can you find for her ? 

11,2. 

1. Does this scene seem artificial and stiff or easy and 
natural ? What elements contribute to this effect ? 

Ill, 1. 

1. Does the actual prologue, as given in V, 1, correspond 
to that here planned ? 

2. What is the point of 1. 26 ? 

3. What is the second of the " hard things " referred to in 
48-49 ? Compare the speaker with the other members 
of the group for ability and power of connected thought. 

4. Make suggestions for the acting of this scene up to 1. 78. 



8 A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM 

5. In what spirit are 145-150 spoken ? Might any other 
member of the group have been chosen as appropriately 
as Bottom for the object of the enchantment and the 
loveof Titania? Why? 

6. Point out some of the incongruities of the situation pre- 
sented in 167-206. By what means are they softened 
and beautified? 

III, 2. 

*1. Cite from other Shakespearean plays friendships between 
girls similar to that shown in 198-214. Why did the 
poet use such pairs of characters, especially of girls, 
so frequently? How and why used here ? Contrast Her- 
mia and Helena. 

2. Would it be fair to draw any general inference from 
the fact that the girls are constant in their love from 
first to last, while the men change ? 

3. Outline the shifts in your sympathy for the various char- 
acters as the scene proceeds. 

4. Make suggestions for the acting of Hermia's part in 
191-277. Follow closely the movement of her thought. 
In what ways is the part of Lysander overdrawn ? Com- 
pare 1. 190. 

5. Criticize the description of the dawn, 391-393. 

6. How does the Lysander-Hermia-Demetrius-Helena ac- 
tion compare in interest with the other actions of the 
play ? Give reasons. Do you grow fond of any of these ? 
Do they seem real? How would the play have suffered 
if they had not been included ? 

IV, 1. 

1. What evidence that Bottom does not remember the 
fairies' names or is otherwise forgetful ? 

2. In what ways is the delicacy of the fairies emphasized 
in 1-48 ? 

3. Why does Titania surrender the changeling child so 
easily ? 

4. In what mood are 123-130 spoken ? Were these words 
written, apparently, by a bookish, secluded poet, or by an 



A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM 9 

expert in huntsmanship and a lover of sports ? Do they 
seem to have been written languidly or con amove ? 
Compare Venus and Adonis, 673-708. 
5. With 191-193 compare Tempest, IV, 1, 148-158. 
What gain in breadth and intensity of expression do 
you notice ? 

IV, 2. 

1. Dramatic purpose and utility of this scene ? 

2. Discuss Bottom's manner upon his reappearance. What 
opinion of Bottom is held by his associates ? Account 
for it. How does this opinion help to class and charac- 
terize those who hold it ? 

V, 1. 

1. How many of the complications of the plot have been 
resolved before this scene opens ? Is this a fault in 
structure ? What necessary and important action is re- 
served for this act ? 

2. How much of Theseus' speech, 2-22, represents the 
poet's own belief ? What, if anything, does it indicate 
regarding the poet's attitude toward the supernatural? 
Toward the poetic faculty ? Do you wholly agree with 
those critics who say that Shakespeare makes Theseus 
praise the poet, in spite of Theseus' evident intention of 
doing just the contrary ? Do not overlook the probably 
unconscious irony involved in making Theseus skeptical 
about poetry while he himself is dependent for his very 
existence upon the " shaping fantasies " of poets ancient 
and modern. So might Ajax or Hector speak, of whom, 
without Homer, we should never have heard. 

3. Memorize 12-17. 

4. Note the superior and high-handed way in which The- 
seus rejects or accepts the entertainment offered him. 
He is the " tired business man " of mythology. Remem- 
ber that Shakespeare's livelihood largely depended upon 
his success in catering to a public and to individuals 
quite as capricious, preoccupied and superior as this 
Theseus. In what mood did the poet write these lines ? 



10 A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM 

5. What determines Theseus' choice of the Pyramus and 
Thisbe j^lay ? 

6. How do 89-105 support the interesting theory that 
this play was written for performance upon some state 
occasion and that the Bottom scenes were intended 
partly as a covert apology for the inadequate equipment 
at the poet's and the stage manager's command ? Dis- 
cuss the merits of this theory. 

7. Punctuate Quince's prologue so as to make the sense 
he intended. 



RICHARD II 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

*1. Does this play belong to the rambling, epic type of 
chronicle play well represented in the three parts of 
Henry VI, or to the concentrated, unified type repre- 
sented in Marlowe's Edward II and in Shakespeare's 
Richard .III? See F. E. Schelling's The English 
Chronicle Play on Marlowe's Edward II. 

*2. In what ways, if any, has the jDoet modified history 
with a view to concentrating or unifying his material? 
In what respects is the action incomplete ? In what ways 
does the play fail of unity ? Where has the dramatist 
brought historical events closer together than they were 
in reality ? Why has he done so ? What space of his- 
torical time does the action represent ? In representing 
only this small portion of Richard's reign, does the play 
give a fair impression of the king's character and rule ? 
See Green's Short History of the English People, 
chapter v, section 5, last three pages. 

*3. Estimate the influence of Marlowe's Edward II upon 
this play in the following particulars : concentration of 
plot ; suppression of comic relief ; delineation of char- 
acter ; centralizing action about a single outstanding 
character or protagonist ; treatment of royal favorites ; 
versification. Is Marlowe's influence greater or less here 
than in Richard III 2 In what ways does the poet 
better his instruction ? What features of the play make 
it clear that he is shaking off the influence of Marlowe ? 

*4. What is the central figure and spring of action ? Show 
this in detail. Is our interest held primarily by the fall 
of Richard or by the rise of Bolingbroke ? Is our atten- 
tion held consistently to the central figure or is it dis- 
persed over several persons ? Compare Richard III 



12 RICHARD II 

in this respect. Compare the Henry VI and the Henry 
IV plays in this resjject. 

5. Has the action a well-marked initial incident, climax, 
and catastrophe ? That is, has the poet tried to shape 
his material into the general form of tragedy ? Do you 
think the initial action was well chosen as the germ of 
the action of the entire play ? 

6. Make a careful estimate of the character of Richard. 

7. Make a careful estimate of the character of Bolingbroke. 

8. Make a careful estimate of the character of York. 

9. Do you discover growth in any or all of these charac- 
ters or only a confirmation and intensification of quali- 
ties well developed from the start ? 

10. For what purpose were the figures of the three women 
introduced ? Do the women act independently ? Do they 
hinder action ? Are they interesting in and for them- 
selves ? Do they illumine the characters of other persons 
in the play? 

DETAILED QUESTIONS 

1,1. 

1. Characterize the speeches of Mowbray and Bolingbroke. 
Which seems the more sincere ? Which has the greater 
personal power ? Can both be in the right ? 

2. What is the effect of Mowbray's hesitancy in speaking 
his mind about the king's cousin in the king's presence ? 

3. For what reasons does Richard wish to effect a recon- 
ciliation ? How deep are tliose reasons ? Do they do him 
credit ? Comment especially upon 152-159. 

4. With whom does the poet wish us to sympathize — 
the peace-making king or the blustering nobles ? Having 
commanded peace, why does not Richard enforce it ? 
How does he attempt to hide his defeat in 196-205 ? 

5. Effect of the entire scene? Comment upon the large 
amount of rhyme. Why does the scene act better than 
it reads ? Is it intended primarily for exposition or for 
some other purpose ? What exposition does it contain ? 
Is it a good first scene ? 



RICHARD II 13 

1,2. 

1. Comment upon the parallel similes of 11-21. Is this 
poetry or bad rhetoric ? 

2. With 37-41 compare III, 2, 56-57. 

3. What do we learn of the characters of the two speakers 
in this scene ? What exposition do you find ? Is it clev- 
erly interwoven with the speeches ? 

1,3. 

1. Is the predominating effect of 1-118 lyric, dramatic, 
or spectacular ? 

2. What is Richard's purpose in allowing the preliminaries 
for the duel to proceed so far? What effect does he 
intend that his action shall have ? What effect does it 
have ? 

3. Are both Bolingbroke and Mowbray sincere in accept- 
ing the banishment ? 

4. What evidence do you find that Richard enjoys the part 
he is playing ? Compare 148-153. What, especially, is 
the effect of the alliteration in 150-151 ? What does 
it indicate regarding the speaker's mood ? 

5. What great, new-found pride of Elizabethan England 
is indicated in 159-173 ? 

6. How do 178-187 give the lie to Richard's previous 
words and avowed purposes ? 

7. What is the purpose of 193-207 ? 

8. Is it kindness that dictates the change in the period of 
banishment, 209-212 ? How is this effect reinforced 
by Bolingbroke's answer and by 1. 226 ? 

9. How do Gaunt's speeches change after the exit of Rich- 
ard, and for what reason ? 

10. With 279-280a compare Coriolanus, III, 3, 120-123. 

11. Which speaker seems nearer the truth in 258-309? 
Which speaks the language of youth and which speaks 
that of age ? What memorable passage of two lines do 
you find here ? Memorize it. 



14 RICHARD II 

1,4. 

1. Compare 1. la with 23^. Comment. 

2. With 23-36 compare I Benrt/ IV, III, 2, 50-54. 

3. What two things are accomplished by this scene ? 

11,1. 
1. With 5-16 compare Matthew Arnold's compressed 
statement in Sohrah and Eustum, " Truth sits upon the 
lips of dying men." Does Gaunt manage to convey any 
more meaning in his eleven lines than Sohrab in one ? 
Comment, with this passage as a basis, upon one prime 
characteristic of Shakespeare's style. Is it simple, com- 
pressed, restrained ? 
*2. Do 21-23 apply primarily to the reign of Richard or 
to the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth ? Do you 
know of any evidence of Italian influence upon Eng- 
lish literature in the reign of Richard II ? 

3. What is the dramatic fault in the famous and truly 
eloquent passage 40-68 ? For this same dramatic 
fault, compare Romeo and Juliet, I, 4, 53-94, and As 
You Like It, II, 7, 139^. What would be the effect 
of the present passage upon an Elizabethan audience ? 
Is this what the poet had in mind, rather than dra- 
matic propriety ? Compare I, 3, 159 ff. 

4. What is the dramatic value and effect of Gaunt's dying 
prophecy ? 

5. How does Richard alienate sympathy in this scene ? 

11,2. 

1. How do the queen's words modify your attitude toward 
Richard ? Do you think 8b-9a is to be interpreted as 
entirely due to partiality, or does it indicate a phase of 
Richard's nature that has not yet been shown ? 

2. How do the queen's words corroborate those of the 
dying Gaunt, and to what purpose ? 

3. Comment upon the heavily artificial quality of 1-40. 

4. What is the Ironic effect of Green's entrance just after 
1.40? 



RICHARD II 15 

5. Does the queen intend a personal reference to those 
present in 69b-70 ? 

6. Source of the pathos in 105 ? 

7. From II, 1, 186jf., and II, 2, 98 jf., estimate the charac- 
ter of York, especially as regards his powers of prompt 
and efficient action. Is the character vigorously con- 
ceived and presented in a convincing and lively fashion, 
or is it coldly and feebly drawn ? 

8. How do the favorites of Richard act in his extremity ? 
How does this reflect upon the character of the absent 
king ? By what other means is Richard kept constantly 
in our minds throughout this scene ? 

11,3. 

1. How do 2-18 reflect the character of the speaker ? 

2. By what conflicting emotions is York torn in 86^.? 
Compare 158-159a with II, 1, 211, and comment. 
Explain York's final attitude toward Bolingbroke and 
his party. 

3. Is it possible to respect York after this scene ? What 
is the exact nature of liis sin? Is it a sin incident chiefly 
to youth or to age, which makes a merit of seeing two 
sides of every question ? 

11,4. 

1. Purpose of this scene ? Can you remember previous 
passages having the same purpose ? 

2. What passage recalls scenes in Macbeth and in Julius 
Ccesar ? 

Ill, 1. 

1. Is there an anachronism in 1. 24 ? 

2. How do 1-30 modify your view of Bolingbroke's char- 
acter, if at all ? 

Ill, 2. 
1. Comment upon 4-26 in any way that seems appropriate. 
What change in Richard since his last appearance? 
What has caused it ? 



16 RICHARD II 

2. Contrast Richard as shown in 4-26 with Bolingbroke 
in III, 1, 1-30. Which is the more kingly ? Which has 
the richer mind and the greater personal charm ? 

3. What great claim of English sovereigns is invoked in 
36-62? 

4. What irony in 61b-62 ? Are 83-87a consciously ironi- 
cal ? 

5. What growing disease of the mind, illustrated in 93- 
103, is destroying Richard's powers of action ? Com- 
pare him, in this respect, with his uncle York. In what 
very broad and general way is Richard like Hamlet ? 

6. With 155-156 comj^are the stage business in Richard 
III, IV, 4, 30^'. What are the approximate dates of 
the two plays ? Do you think these lines a possible remi- 
niscence of the impressive tableau in the earlier play ? 

7. Compare the spirit and underlying philosophy of 144- 
177 with those of 36-62. Explain important differ- 
ences. 

8. Would it have mattered to Richard if he had known 
that he w*as contradicting himself ? What does matter 
to him and with what is he chiefly concerned in these 
touching and beautiful lines ? His lost kingdom ? His 
dead friends ? The vagaries and arabesques of his own 
fancy ? 

9. Does Richard here command respect or love ? Compare 
Bolingbroke. 

10. Is the character of Au merle consistently drawn ? Com- 
pare his speeches in I, 4, with those in this scene. 

Ill, 3. 

1. Is there anything surprising in the attitude of York in 
7^.? Explain it. 
* 2. Is Bolingbroke's duplicity in 31-61 in accord with the 
facts of history ? Is it consistent with the character as 
drawn ? 

3. What earlier speech of Richard's is recalled by 72— 
100 ? Compare 143-175, as to its psychology and un- 
derlying habit of thought, with an earlier speech which 
it closely resembles. What is the purpose or value of 



RICHARD II 17 

this parallelism ? With 143-175, compare /// Henry 

r/,ii,5,i9#. 

4. What characteristic of Richard's mind causes him to 
fall back so suddenly, here and elsewhere, from a 
haughty insistence upon the external insignia of power 
and royal prerogative to a poetical and sentimental 
humility ? Why does he seem to know no mean be- 
tween the two extremes ? Has he ever realized the true, 
inward essence of real power ? Has he a strong sense 
of personal worth or of self-respect? What was his 
manner of showing power, when he had it, to the world 
and to himself ? 

5. Gather from Richard's speeches in the second half of 
the scene evidences of extreme intellectual subtlety and 
activity, which increase as his will declines. Note es- 
pecially 194b-195 and 1. 203. Is not the latter line a 
complete, exhaustive comment upon York's whole ac- 
tion ? 

6. What modern philosopher is associated in your mind 
with the idea so bitterly and ironically expressed in 
200b-201 ? 

Ill, 4. 

1. Do the gardener and his assistants speak in character ? 
Is the apology in 27-28 adequate ? 
*2. Compare the poet's treatment of the laboring classes 
in somewhat earlier plays : // Henry VI, IV, 2 ; 
Love's Labour's Lost, character of Costard; Tivo Gen- 
tlemen of Verona, characters of Launce and Speed ; 
Midsummer N'lghfs Dream, the Bottom group ; Mer- 
chant of Venice, character of Launcelot ; Taming of 
the Shrew, character of Sly. 

3. Note that the laborers are not introduced for comic 
effect (this may be partially due to the influence of 
Marlowe) and that they are attached to one of the no- 
blest families in England. Would a treatment of them 
more in accord with the poet's general practice have 
harmonized well with the tragic and pathetic treatment 
of the queen ? 



18 RICHARD II 

4. Basing your judgment upon the above citations and 
upon the present passage, should you say that Shake- 
speare's frequently contemptuous treatment of the lower 
classes was due to personal convictions or to the exi- 
gencies of his dramatic purpose ? 

5. What is the purpose of this discussion of great public 
affairs by the common people ? Compare Richard III, 
II, 3, Julius Ccesar, III, 3, and Macbeth, II, 4. 

IV, 1. 

1. As a matter of history, Bolingbroke actually assisted 
Richard in his aggressions against the Duke of Glouces- 
ter. Does Act I of this play give the impression that 
Gloucester's assassination and Bolingbroke's banish- 
ment occurred at nearly the same time, as 10-19 seem 
to indicate ? 

2. With 14-19 compare I, 4, 1-19. 

3. In order to realize the poet's care with subordinate 
characters, recall the impression made by Aumerle in 
previous scenes. 

4. Comment upon the stage effect of 19-85. Since this 
action is not completed, why does it find place here ? 
Since the Bishop of Carlisle's prophecy is not fulfilled 
in this play, for what purposes was it written ? Com- 
pare II Henry IV, IV, 5, 184 jf. 

5. Comment upon the truth of York's striking expression, 
"tired majesty," 1. 178. How far does this go toward 
explaining Richard's manner ? 

6. What seems to be the attitude of York in this scene? 

7. Comment upon the historical accuracy of 1. 263. 

8. By what means does Richard win our love and, per- 
haps, even some measure of respect in this very power- 
ful scene ? 

9. In what ways does this scene seem to be fitted for strong 
stage effect ? 

V, 1. 

1. Explain the apparent coldness of " fair woman " and 
"'good soul," 16 and 17. Does Richard express here 



RICHARD II 19 

an overwhelming sorrow ? Does this add to the pathos 
of the scene ? 

V,2. 

1. Why is Shakespeare content merely to indicate the 
queen's future life ? Should attention be centered here 
upon Richard or upon his queen ? AVhy ? 

2. Comment upon 23-26. 

3. What preparation has there been for the revelation of 
the conspiracy against the king ? 

4. Point out contrasts between father, mother, and son. 
Can you trace the son's characteristics in his parents ? 

5. What elements make for a peculiar liveliness in this 
scene ? 

*6. Do the Duke and Duchess show the typical and normal 
attitudes of father and mother respectively toward an 
erring son who is in danger of his life ? Compare 
Mother Asa's attitude, under similar circumstances, in 
Ibsen's Peer Gynt. 

V,3. 

1. How do l-12a link this play with the principal inter- 
est of the Henry IV plays ? 

2. Are there evidences that the poet found it hard to rec- 
oncile the pardoning of Aumerle with Bolingbroke's 
character as he had conceived it and with the disclo- 
sures of IV, 1 ? Is this one of the few places in which 
his stubborn historical material, very closely followed 
in this play, is not bent entirely to his purpose ? 

3. Why is this scene so much less interesting and convinc- 
ing than the preceding? Comment especially upon the 
slow movement and the anti-climax of 87-146. 

V,5. 
1. What two passages of Scripture are vaguely recalled 
in 15-17 ? Is there a real contradiction between them ? 
Do 11-17 mean that one must not think deeply upon 
"things divine" if he is to avoid the discovery of fatal 
contradictions even in Holy Writ itself ? Does Richard 



20 RICHARD II 

seem the sort of man to whom a simple faith is easy 
and natural ? 

2. What evidence, in 1-66, of an increase in Richard's 
intellectual disease ? 

3. By what means does the poet lessen the shock (and the 
danger to the success of his play) in this representation 
of the assassination of an English king ? 

V,6. 

1. Does the drama end " upon a note of rest " ? What 
prophecies, actions, forebodings, are left incomplete? 
Is this a fault, or is it due to the very nature of the 
chronicle play, as such ? What does it indicate regard- 
ing the poet's plans for future work ? 

2. What is done in this scene to round out the action as 
far as possible ? 



HENRY lY, PART I 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. Enumerate the actions and the groups of characters. 
Divide these actions and groups into two broad and 
general classes. By what character are the two di- 
visions connected ? 

2. What is the main action and what the main group of 
characters ? Why do you say so ? What action and 
what group constantly threatens the predominance of 
the main action and the main group ? Is this a fault ? 
Can you explain it ? State and defend your choice as 
to tlie hero of the play. 

3. Does this play make an effect of unity ? Is such unity 
as it has achieved by mechanical means, as in The 
Winter s Tale^ or is it pervading and intrinsic, as in 
Othello ? In what ways is it evident that the poet's 
shaping power is embarrassed by the stubborn facts of 
liistory ? 

4. Is the effect of this play primarily that of a chronicle 
play, a tragedy, or a comedy ? What elements of each 
of these does it possess ? To which form did the poet 
intend to shape it ? How was he led astray ? 

5. Cite several examples of character contrast. Show that 
this device makes for economy in characterization. 

6. Do you think Hal or Hotspur the larger and better 
man ? Give definite reasons. What did the poet think ? 
Do you find his method of showing his preference ade- 
quate, artistic, convincing? How much weight did he 
put upon Hal's victory over Hotspur on the battlefield ? 

7. Did Shakespeare's audience feel regarding the mem- 
bers of the Falstaff group that they were men of the 
early fifteenth century or that they were men of con- 
temporary, late-sixteenth-century London ? How would 



22 HENRY IV, PART I 

this affect the feeling of the audience toward the purely 
historical matter ? 

8. Write a study of Falstaff in not less than five hundred 
words, discussing the following points : Is Falstaff a 
coward ? Why does lie cultivate Hal and why does Hal 
permit him to do so ? Was he wholly studied from life, 
wholly imagined, or " compounded of many simples " ? 
What is meant in calling him one of the three or four 
greatest creations among the characters of Shakespeare's 
plays ? 

9. How is this play connected with Richard 11'^ What 
would you think of an attempt to use the play as an 
historical document ? How much effort does the poet 
make to depict the life and customs of the opening fif- 
teenth century rather than those of his own day ? 

10. What gave the play its extraordinary popularity in 
Shakespeare's time ? Why is it so much less popular 
on the stage to-day ? It is almost impossible to render 
faithfully a play of the chronicle type on the modern 
stage. Tlie jaded audiences of to-day lag pitifully be- 
hind Falstaff's galloping wit. Moreover, the modern 
audience, which Puritanism has " blown gray with its 
breath," is bewildered by this Gargantuan figure of a 
gross fat man who lives by thievery and sack, but who 
must, nevertheless, be admired. 



DETAILED QUESTIONS 

1,1. 

1. The battle of Holmedon occurred in September of 1402. 
Richard II died in January of 1400. With line 28 com- 
pare Richard II, V, 6, 49-50. What advantage is 
gained by this slight modification of history ? 

2. What were Henry's reasons for wishing to undertake 
a Crusade ? See the closing lines of Richard II. Are 
1-33 spoken in perfect sincerity ? Does it seem likely 
that the king does not already know the substance of 
what Westmoreland reports in 34^6 and 49-61 ? How 



HENRY IV, PART I 23 

does his show of ignorance serve the poet's purpose in 
this scene ? 

3. In the light of later developments in the scene, what 
dramatic irony do you find in 5-18a ? 

4. With 18b-33 compare II Henry IF, IV, 5, 232-241. 

5. Note that the first speech of the play is given to the 
king and compare the first speeches of Kiiig John, 
Richard III, Richard II, and Henry V. Comment. 

6. Characterize the diction of 1-33. 

7. Note throughout the remainder of the scene the intro- 
duction of the names of persons absent and the char- 
acterization of each. Why is this done? What two 
persons are most carefully characterized and by what 
means ? 

8. What exposition is given in this later portion of the 
scene over and above mere characterization ? 

*^. What were the actual ages of Hotspur and Prince Hal 
in 1402 ? What was the age of the king ? How does the 
poet represent their ages ? Compare V, 1, 13. Why 
does he do this ? 

10. With 11 ff. compare Richard II, V, 3, l-12a. 

11. What feature of the political and social conditions of 
the early fifteenth century made Hotspur's withholding 
of the prisoners a more venial offense than it would have 
been in the time of Elizabeth ? 

1,2. 

1. Explain the change to prose. What is the effect of this 
change ? 

2. After reading a few lines of this scene, try to give a 
reason for the style of the speeches in scene 1, espe- 
cially that of the king's first speech. Or is this latter 
only the conventional style of Shakespeare's kings ? 
Compare the first speech of Richard III. 

3. What is the point of 2-9 ? Note the repetition of the 
word "day" and Falstaff's rejoinder. 

4. Paraphrase 26-33. 

5. How do 47-48a recall a phase of the early history of 
this play ? 



m HENRY IV, PART I 

6. Read aloud many times 89-98 and 101-109. Be pre- 
pared to render them so as to show the peculiar rliythm 
of Falstaff's speech as well as the kaleidoscopic shifts 
and doublings of his thought. Wliat single sentence in 
these two speeches seems to you the most delightfully 
characteristic of the speaker ? 

7. Would it have been well to have used another name 
for the character Gadshill, since the place Gadshill is 
to be so prominently mentioned ? But how did the 
character probably come by the name ? The error, if it 
is one, goes back to the Famous Victories of Henry V, 
which Shakespeare used to some extent as a source. 

8. How do the epithets in 177-178 apply to FalstafE ? 

9. Is the character of the prince effectively shielded by 
making him join the robbers not for the sake of the 
theft but for the sake of the jest? Has not the prince 
been guilty of robbery in that he has been associating 
with thieves ? Is it morally or dramatically a different 
thing to show him on the stage as actually participat- 
ing in a robbery ? Which is more important here, the 
moral or the dramatic aspect of the matter? Why? 

10. Discuss the dramatic value of 218-240. How does it 
prepare for II Henry IV, V, 5? Granting the neces- 
sity of this material, can you suggest a more artistic 
way of presenting it? 

11. Is this soliloquy convincing and has it the effect of sin- 
cerity ? Does Hal give satisfying reasons for his mode 
of life or is he merely devising an argument to quiet 
his conscience ? Consider, in this connection, the imme- 
diate context. Do you like to feel that Hal is giving 
himself only half-heartedly and out of policy to the wild 
life in which we see him ? What effect would such a 
feeling have upon your pleasure in the comic portions 
of the play ? 

12. Prince Hal was to become Shakespeare's ideal man of 
action. The chronicles base upon feebly founded tradi- 
tion a report that Hal was wild and dissolute in his 
youth. Do you think this much-vexed soliloquy may 
be explained as the poet's not entirely successful at- 



HENRY IV, PART I 25 

tempt to reconcile the contradiction and to present 
Hal's life as an unbroken and harmonious whole ? Or 
may there be an autobiographical tinge in these lines 
— some vague recollection of the poet's own youtli at 
Stratford and the vows there made ? Note that one chief 
reason, not expressed in the present passage, for Hal's 
pleasure in low life is his desire to know all sorts and 
conditions of men. It is certain that the same desire 
must have taken the poet many times into even stranger 
company. 
13. What family likeness is discernible between Hal as 
shown in these lines and his father as revealed in III, 
2,29#? 

1,3. 

1. How does Worcester's outbreak and dismissal prepare 
for his action later in the scene ? Does he deliberately 
attempt to anger the king? Compare 272-276. 

2. What is the effect of the alliteration in 50-55 ? 

3. Point out in 30-64 several instances of '' convincing de- 
tail " — minor details which could not be readily im- 
agined and would be observed only by an alert witness, 
and which give, therefore, an air of realistic fidelity to 
the whole report. 

4. By what indirect and highly successful method is Hot- 
spur's character developed in these lines ? Briefly out- 
line his character as delineated In 29-69. Do you know 
more or less about him after this speech than you do 
about Hal after I, 2 ? Why is this? 

5. Is there any evidence in this scene that the king is try- 
ing to fabricate a case against Mortimer? Compare 
81-82 with 114. Why should he do so? Compare 145- 
150. What actions of Mortimer's lend color to the king's 
charge ? 

6. With 1. 83 compare 116-117. Why does the king fear 
Glendower ? Contrast III, 1, 13-62, and 148-164. 

7. What is the part played by Worcester in 139^. ? 
What is he trying to do ? 

8. Contrast Hotspur, Worcester, and Northumberland in 



26 HENRY IV, PART I 

the rest of this scene, as to subtlety, impetuosity, nobil- 
ity of character. By what means Is the superior moral 
and personal power of Hotspur made evident? What 
motives actuate Hotspur in joining the rebellion ? 
9. With 242-248 compare II, 4, 373, III, 1, 5-6, and 
Coriolanus, I, 9, 82-92. Compare also Julius Ccesar, 
IV, 3, 252-253. What is the effect of these passages ? 
10. Point out the passages of vivid lyrical poetry in Hot- 
spur's speeches in this scene. Comment upon character 
portrayal in the beautiful rant of 201-205. In what 
moods and upon what subjects is Hotspur a poet ? Is 
this consistent with III, 1, 127-135 ? 

11,1. 

1. To what elements does the scene between the carriers 
owe its charm ? Would it seem to Shakespeare's audi- 
ence to have taken place in 1402 or to be contemporary ? 
What effect would this have upon their feeling regard- 
ing the historical characters and incidents of the play ? 
*2. Are there scenes in other Shakespearean plays that 
deal in this intensely realistic manner with the low life 
of London ? Present evidence that Shakespeare was 
more or was less interested in such material than his 
fellow dramatists, Jonson, Dekker, Chapman, Heywood. 

3. Why are the companions of Falstaff and Hal not made 
illiterate ? 

4. Purpose of this scene ? What scenes does it link ? How 
does it bridge the gap in tone and feeling between I, 3, 
and II, 2? 

11,2. 

1. How is Falstaff held in the center of interest even 
when not present on the stage ? 

2. Does Falstaff i)lay the coward in this scene ? Compare 
him in this respect with Gadshill, Bardolph, and Peto. 

3. Out of what material does Falstaff make humor ? Note 
especially 10-29, 36-40, and 80-90. Does he laugli 
more at others than at himself ? Is this humility or 
supreme egoism ? 



1 



' HENRY IV, PART I 27 

11,3. 

1. What characteristics of Hotspur, shown in 1-38, are 
similar to those revealed in I, 3, 125-302 ? 

2. What purposes, apart from characterization, are served 
by the reading of the letter ? 

3. Does Lady Percy's description of Hotspur's overwrought 
condition indicate fear, on his part, of the outcome, or 
what ? A professional soldier whose whole life has been 
lived under arms, why should he be so excited now ? la 
there anything exceptional in his present situation ? 

4. With this scene compare Julius Ccesar, II, 1, 233- 
309. What is the difference in tone and to what is the 
difference due ? What is the difference in outcome ? If 
possible, show that in either case the wife's character 
is a reflection of the husband's. 

5. What grave defects of Hotspur's character are shown 
here ? Are they consistent with what we already know 
of him ? 

6. What premonition and vague preparation is suggested 
here of the outcome of the rebellion ? 

11,4. 

1. Can you think of any justification for Hal's association 
with tapsters in order to learn their language and their 
outlook on life? Contrast him with his father as shown 
in III, 2, 29^. Does your explanation account for his 
association with Falstaflf and his fellows? Are these 
latter on the same level with the tapsters ? 

2. What is the " issue " of the jest upon Francis ? Are 104— 
107 an answer ? Is it a good jest ? Would it be bettered 
in acting ? Can you see any reason for making the 
scene up to the entrance of Falstaff a little dull ? 

*3. Study, if possible in Schmidt's Shakespeare LexicoUy 
the poet's use of the word "humor," 1. 104, before 
and after 1598, the date of Ben Jonson's Every 3Ian 
in His Humour. 

*4. Compare the style of 110-121 with that of the " char- 
acter-writing " that came into vogue a decade after this 



28 HENRY IV, PART I 

play was published and which was, to some extent, an 
outgrowth of the interest in " humors." Compare Twelfth 
Night, I, 5, 165-171, and Troilus and Cressida, I, 2, 
20-31. Note that the latter passage is perhaps a covert 
satire upon the father of the " humors," Ben Jonson. 

5. "What association of ideas leads Hal on in the same 
breath from Francis to Hotspur ? Is it that in consider- 
ing his mastery of all humors he suddenly thinks of 
Hotspur as one of the most notable in his whole range 
of experience ? Or is he contrasting his own pleasure in 
humorous observation of life and slow storing of experi- 
ence with Hotspur's precocious quest of violent action ? 

6. Compare, for justice, knowledge, and good humor, 
Hal's treatment of Hotspur in 115-121 with Hotspur's 
attitude toward Hal as shown in I, 3, 230-233, IV, 1, 
94b-97a, and IV, 1, lll-112a. Compare also V, 1, 
85b-100, and V, 2,46 jf. 

7. What preparation in 121b-123a ? 

8. What has been the purpose of Poins and Hal in trick- 
ing Falstaff? Compare I, 2, 207-213. Do they take 
pleasure, in 126-312, in proving Falstaff a liar or in 
the ingenuity of his lies ? Does Falstaff know this ? 
Give evidence that he does or that he does not expect 
to be believed in the story he tells. 

9. Where, in this passage, is Falstaff at the height of his 
enjoyment and of his wit ? Is it in those places where 
he is most clearly detected in his lies and where the 
demand is greatest upon his ingenuity ? Select passages 
of special brilliancy in which the wit does not play upon 
the immediate situation. 

10. With 143-145a compare 364-365 and I, 2, 101-106. 
What similarity in these passages ? 

11. In 321-322 we have the only reference to Queen Joan, 
Hal's stepmother. In Richard II Shakespeare falsified 
history in order to bring Richard's queen, in reality a 
child of nine, into the play. Why does he refrain from 
presenting the wife of Henry ? 

12. What is the source of humor in 325-328 ? Compare 
II, 2, 89. 



HENRY IV, PART I 29 

13. Considering that this scene is very long, what is the 
value of the interpolation of matter from the serious 
plot in 362-412 ? How is this material made to har- 
monize with the tone of the scene ? Is some violence 
done to the character of Hal in this necessary harmo- 
nization ? What advance has been made in the rebellion 
since we last heard of it ? 

14. Note the natural and easy leading-up to the " play- 
extempore " in 410-412 and the preparation for it in 
308-309 and 121-122. 

15. Why do we not blame the prince, whose *' father's 
beard is turned white " with anxiety and whose succes- 
sion to the throne is endangered, for the unfilial frivol- 
ity of this scene ? Is it because we are dominated, as 
Hal is also for the nonce, by the spirit of comedy, or 
rather the spirit of Falstaff, before which nothing is 
sacred ? 

16. Find other instances in the remainder of the scene of 
this subjection of all dissonances to the one compelling 
comic theme. How far does this go toward condoning 
1. 561 ? 

17. Point out, in 438^7"-? several parodies of the style of 
John Lyly's Euphues. Setting aside the obvious an- 
achronism, discuss the propriety of making such a man 
as Falstaff burlesque a style of speech affected only at 
the court and in fashionable society. Is he a man of 
wide reading and intellectual culture ? Are we to judge 
him, any more conclusively than we do the prince, by 
the low society in which we find him ? 

18. Do you think Falstaff is somewhat more serious in his 
apologia pro vita sua in 512-527 than in 463-475 ? 
Compare 531-533 and 539-541. 

19. With 599-600 compare III, 3, 199-200. 

Ill, 1. 

1. Enumerate the contrasts presented in this scene be- 
tween the Anglo-Saxon and the Celtic temperament. 
What characteristics of the Welsh are represented by 
Glen dower ? 



30 HENRY IV, PART I 

2. Point out several passages dealing with the difficulty 
of the Welsh language. 

3. Are the contrasts between Hotspur and Glendower all 
deeply rooted in character and racial differences or are 
some of them due to differences in their respective 
ways of expressing themselves? Is Hotspur less self- 
assertive than Glendower or only less outspoken in his 
self-esteem ? See 13-69. Does Hotspur feel less in- 
tensely than Glendower or has he the Anglo-Saxon's 
sentimental fear of emotional display? See 192-271. 

4. Which of the two seems to you on the whole the more 
admirable — Glendower, with his expansive and in- 
genuous egotism, his universal curiosity, his wide ex- 
perience in action, art, and learning, and most of all his 
patience and forbearance, or Hotspur, with his intoler- 
ant, carefully hidden egotism, his hatred of the arts 
and of all illusion — when seen in others? Can Hot- 
spur deal in sentimental illusion also when on one of 
the few subjects in which he is interested ? Compare 
the famous lines, I, 3, 201-205. 

5. Supposing that Shakespeare judged the two at all, 
which do you think he found the more to his mind ? 
See 127-135. Compare A Midsiivimer Nighfs Dream, 
V, 1, 2-22. Is Hotspur condemning poetry or versifica- 
tion in this passage ? Do you recall passages in which 
he is himself a poet? Comment, in this connection, 
upon the powerful phrasing of 96-105. 

6. What part is played by Mortimer and Worcester in 
this scene ? Upon what ground does Worcester base 
his reproof of Hotspur in 177 ff. ? How is this char- 
acteristic ? 

7. What would be the effect upon the sympathies of an 
English audience of the scene dealing with the parti- 
tion of the kingdom ? 

8. What feeling is left by this scene regarding the prob- 
able success of the Percy rebellion ? What preparation 
is made for Glendower's later action ? Compare IV, 
4,18. 






HENRY IV, PART I 31 

III, 2. 

1. Contrast the characters of father and son in this scene. 
Why does not the father understand his son ? Does the 
lack of understanding seem due to the father's fault or 
to the son's ? 

2. What new elements in the character of each are devel- 
oped ? By what means is this made possible ? 

3. Does the king anywhere complain of Hal's conduct as? 
immoral, or on any other than grounds of policy ? 
Comment. Does the scene in any way resemble that 
rehearsed the night before in the tavern ? In what 
manner does Hal meet his father's charges ? 

4. Is Hal's vow to kill Hotspur any extenuation, at least 
according to modern standards, of what has been mor- 
ally wrong in his own past action ? Does he intend it 
as such? Why, then, does the king accept it with such 
apparent satisfaction ? Is there a suggestion here of the 
old idea of trial by battle ? 

5. What advantage is derived here from the well-estab- 
lished idea of rivalry between Hal and Hotspur? To 
what character in the play is this idea most frequently 
present ? 

Ill, 3. 

1. Show that the humor of this scene is derived from 
sources and materials similar to those employed in 
11,4. 

2. Is Falstaff at all serious in his accusations of the 
hostess ? Does he expect to extract money from her on 
such a pretext ? With 1. 69 and 133-134 compare Dr. 
Johnson's retort upon the railing fish-wife in calling 
her a " parallelopiped." What character is given its 
first careful treatment in this scene ? 

3. What, if anything, is implied as to Hal's sincerity in 
III, 2, by his presence among his old companions im- 
mediately after that scene ? Comment especially upon 
203-204. 

4. Into what parts is the scene divided ? How do the first 



32 HENRY IV, PART I 

parts prepare for the last ? Why does not Hal appear 
in the first parts ? 
5. Explain the change to verse in 1. 225. 

IV, 1. 

1. Explain 10-12, and especially the exact connotation of 
" so potent." 

2. Is there any slight evidence that Worcester under- 
stands the nature of Northumberland's sickness better 
than Hotspur ? How is this characteristic ? Compare 
II Henry IV, Induction, 36-37a. 

3. Compare Hotspur's reception of the letter with that 
given to the letter from the unnamed correspondent in 
II, 3, 1-38. Note a similar trick of manner in 1. 31 of 
this scene. 

4. Do 44-52 seem the sort of argument you would ex- 
pect from Hotspur ? Explain it. 

5. Paraphrase 61-62a. Comment upon 62b-65. Why 
does Worcester see this so clearly ? 

6. Does Vernon speak, in 97b-103, of the comrades of 
the prince with whom we are acquainted ? 

7. For what purpose is this glowing praise of Hal given, 
at just this point, from the mouth of an enemy ? Com- 
pare V, 2, 52-69. Note the contrast of Hotspur's atti- 
tude in both passages. Is there any person besides Ver- 
non in the play who sees Hal in this light ? What is 
the value of Vernon's testimony as a transition from 
the Prince Hal of the Boar's Head Tavern to the 
Prince Henry of Wales on the field of Shrewsbury ? 

8. Is there anything in lll-124a that still further alien- 
ates sympathy from Hotspur ? Does he hope for vic- 
tory after 124b-126 ? 

9. Enumerate the ways in which the defeat of the Percy 
rebellion has been prepared for in this and earlier 
scenes. 

10. What part is played by Worcester and Douglas in this 
scene? What is the range of Douglas's intellectual 
horizon ? Compare him, in this respect, with Hotspur. 
What is the effect of his presence in the play upon your 



HENRY IV, PART I 33 

feeling toward Hotspur ? Compare the dramatic func- 
tion of Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet. 

IV, 2. 

1. Why does Falstaff appear in a less favorable light in 
this than in any previous scene ? Does the Prince see 
this ? What effect does it have upon him ? 

2. What principles of the Falstaffian philosophy — prin- 
ciples expounded in V, 1, 127^., and V, 4, 111 ff. — 
partially explain his action ? 

3. Do you recall, in the world's literature, another such 
complete, compact, and final exposure of the folly of 
war as is found in 71-74 ? Falstaff probably intends 
no more here than one of his humorous evasions of 
a moral issue, but, in making this, he punctures the 
most monstrous fallacy of the ages. 

IV, 3. 

1. Comment upon the speeches of Douglas in the first 
fourteen lines. 

2. Characterize Hotspur's rehearsal of his grievances in 
52-105. What is the value of this recapitulation of 
historic facts so late in the play ? 

3. What is the character and attitude of Blunt? Com- 
pare I, 1, 62-63. Does he pay allegiance to the person 
or to the office of tlie king ? 

IV, 4. 

1. What would be lost to the play in the elimination of 
this scene ? Note that the Archbishop of York is a 
leader in the second rebellion, which is a main theme 
oi II Henry IV. 

2. The three preceding scenes and all the scenes of Act V 
are laid out of doors and were set on the fore-stage. 
Comment. 

V,l. 

1. With 1-8 compare Richard III, Y, 4, 282-287. 

2. Is Worcester telling the truth in 25b^26 ? 

3. Comnient upon 28-29. 



34 HENRY IV, PART I 

4. Does the presence of Falstaff in this group of the high- 
est men in tlie realm seem natural ? Compare IV, 2, 
54. ff., and IIHennj IF, III, 2, 27-29. 

5. What does Hal gain by respecting and praising his 
rival? Compare V, 4, 72-73. 

6. Does the king gain or lose in royal dignity by his offer 
of pardon at the last moment ? Here, as in the preced- 
ing question and everywhere, an answer of vague and 
vapid moralizing is of no value. Both questions are 
dramatic and not ethical in bearing. 

7. The charges made in IV, 3, and in this scene against 
Henry IV are historically valid. Many persons in 
Shakespeare's audience would have known this. What 
considerations are set against these charges so as to 
retain sympathy for the royal party ? 

8. Are there slight indications of a change in Hal's atti- 
tude toward Falstaff? Or do you think he does no 
more than express here thoughts which he has had 
from the beginning? Why should he express them 
under the present circumstances? Does Falstaff seem 
in his element in this scene ? 

9. Is it cowardice or a sort of ignoble common sense that 
inspires Falstaff 's famous catechism, 127-144? How 
much of his reasoning is sound and convincing ? 

10. A great deal is said in this play about honor and repu- 
tation, which may be likened, in its relation to the 
drama, to a musical theme sounded in several different 
keys. In this soliloquy we have the humorous inversion 
of that theme. It is said that we know nothing fully 
and truly, not even the most sacred thing, until we can 
laugh at it. State the varying relations toward this 
central theme of the king, the prince, Hotspur, Glen- 
dower, Falstaff, and Douglas. 

V,2. 

1. Why does Worcester falsify the king's message ? How 
is this action in character ? 

2. Is Hotspur sincere in saying that he " has not well tlie 
gift of tongue," or does he say this with the same in- 



HENRY IV, PART I 35 

tent that actuates Antony in Jullits Ccesar, III, 2, 
221 ? Does his speech to the soldiers prove the state- 
ment true ? Why is it that Sliakespeare, with all the 
immense range of his characters, has nowhere presented 
a character of any importance that is deficient in the 
power of speech? Even Caliban has a command of 
language which might be envied by an orator. Is 
Silence an exception ? 
3. Are your sympathies with the rebels or with the king's 
party at the close of this scene ? With Hal or with 
Hotspur? Why? 

V,3. 

1. Does the poet mean to imply that Douglas is a better 
man than Blunt — except perhaps in strength of wrist 
and biceps — because he kills him? How does this 
bear upon the rivalry between Hotspur and Hal and 
its outcome ? 

2. How and why is Falstaff made to suffer by being pre- 
sented in the midst of action and by not having the 
center of the stage to himself as in previous scenes ? 
What effect does his presence here have upon your 
feeling toward these battle scenes ? 

3. How does Hal's manner toward Falstaff, in 41-58, 
differ from that to which we have become accustomed ? 
How is it that Hal can change so radically in this re- 
gard while Falstaff cannot, or at least does not ? 

V,4. 

1. What is the poet's purpose in introducing the theme of 
the valor of Prince John ? 

2. Since this is a play of Henry IV, the king should be 
the hero of Shrewsbury. Holinshed makes him so. 
Does Shakespeare ? Why ? 

3. What is the artistic purpose in presenting, side by 
side with the death-grapple between the two rivals 
towards which the action of the entire play has been 
directed, a farcical conflict between the butcher Doug- 
las and the philosophic Falstaff, whose opinions upon 
the subject of " honor " have been recently expressed ? 



36 HENRY IV, PART I 

4. Napoleon Bonaparte, with this play in mind, is re- 
ported as saying that Shakesj)eare seemed to have the 
childish idea that the relative worth of two men could 
be accurately determined by the cut and thrust of 
sword-play. Discuss this point fully. By what means 
has Hal been shown to be the better man, aside from 
this present conflict? Was physical strength an insig-" 
nificant thing in 1402 ? Is it even now, when the 
puniest man can at least pull a trigger ? Is it sufficient 
to say that Hal, having shown himself the better man 
in all other respects, here meets and defeats his rival 
on his own ground ? 
*5. Discuss the mediaeval theory of " trial by battle " in 
its relations to the fight between Hal and Hotspur. 
Compare Richard II, I, 1, passim. 

6. What is the exact nature of Hal's feeling for Falstaff 
as presented in 102-110 ? Is there anything in this 
speech to reinforce the soliloquy in I, 2, 218 ff. ? 

7. Falstaff has enjoyed a privilege accorded to but few — 
he has overheard a friend mourning his death. He 
should know, now, precisely what Hal thinks of him. 
What is the nature of his reaction ? 

8. Is there any possibility that Falstaff expects his lie 
about the killing of Hotspur to be believed ? What 
bearing has this upon the motive of his other lies, in 
11,4? 

9. What is gained by Hal's agreeing to lie for Falstaff ? 

V,5. 
1. Is the play rounded off and all the actions completed 
with this scene ? Why ? 



HENRY IV, PART II 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. Answer for this play questions 1-4 on Henry IV, 
Part I. 

2. How is this play connected with Part I '^ Do you think 
the two parts were planned together, or was the second 
part an afterthought ? How does the second part coin- 
pare, in interest, with the first ? Give reasons for this. 
What new material is added to enhance interest ? 

3. Collect all passages in this and the preceding play that 
serve as preparation for the change in Hal's manner 
of life and in his attitude toward his former associates. 
Has the poet succeeded in rationalizing this change ? 

4. Discuss the reasons for Hal's rejection of Falstaff. 
How has this rejection heen prepared for ? Is the poet 
fair to Falstaff? Does Falstaff get "poetic justice" ? 
Is Falstaff treated with perfect consistency throughout 
the two plays ? Are the Falstaff scenes as good in this 
part as in the first ? 

5. If you were preparing an acting version of Henry IV 
for the modern stage and were confined to five acts, 
would you select the entire first part, the entire second 
part, or separate acts and scenes from each? Give 
reasons. 

6. Make a selection and arrangement of acts and scenes 
from the two plays that will form a distinct play, as 
unified and coherent as possible and covering the essen- 
tial historical matter of the two plays while preserving 
the most interesting Falstaff scenes. 

DETAILED QUESTIONS 

Inductio2^ 
1. Argue from the style and thought of Rumour's speech 
that this passage was or was not written by Shakespeare. 



38 HENRY IV, PART II 

2. What is the dramatic purpose of the speech ? Might 
this purpose have been served more artistically in 
some other way ? 

3. Explain Shakespeare's gradual abandonment of pro- 
logues and introductory soliloquies, commonly employed 
by his predecessors and contemporaries. 

1,1. 

1. Character of Northumberland in this scene ? Comment 
upon his speeches, especially 67-81. 

2. Value of Lord Bardolph's false report from Shrews- 
bury ? 

3. What exposition in this scene ? How does it link the 
second to the first part ? 

1,2. 

1. What should be said of the self-respect shown in 
7-lla? Illustrate, by reference to events in Fart I, 
the truth of llb-13a. 

2. How does the poet betray the workings of his own art 
inl3b-16a? 

3. Is Falstaff talking to the Page in 7-34, or does this 
speech amount to a soliloquy ? 

4. In what several ways does 61-254 connect the present 
with the preceding play ? What exposition in this pas- 
sage ? How does it forward the action ? 

5. Cite several passages of especial brilliance in Falstaff's 
encounter with the Chief Justice. Characterize his at- 
titude toward the Chief Justice in one word. 

6. Comment closely upon the last sentence of the scene as 
highly characteristic of the speaker. 

1,3. 

1. What premonition as to the outcome of the second re- 
bellion is given by this scene: {a) by what is said and 
what is already known, from Part /, about the char- 
acter of Northumberland ; {h) by the character and 
words of Lord Bardolph ? 

2. What is the effect upon your sympathies of 85-108 "^ 



1 



HENRY IV, PART II 39 

Cite similar pronouncements upon a similar theme from 
other Shakespearean plays. What, exactly, are the 
charges Northumberland makes against the " fond 
many " ? 

11,1. 

1. What two conflicting emotions are manifested in the 
Hostess's speeches, 1-45 ? 

2. With the subtlety and cutting edge of the Hostess's 
repartee in 53-55, compare II, 4, 79-114, and Part /, 
III, 3, 74-75, 135-136a, 146-148. 

3. Where has the Hostess acquired her vocabulary of 
abuse? Does she address Falstaff or the Page as 
"Hemp-seed"? Which would give the better comic 
effect ? 

4. Does Falstatf show any sign of being daunted by the 
entrance of the Chief Justice and his men, which cre- 
ates perhaps the most trying situation in which we 
have seen the fat knight ? Just how does he extricate 
himself ? 

5. Comment closely upon the association of ideas exhib- 
ited in 91-112. What important element is lacking in 
the Hostess's process of thought ? Does the great mass 
of "convincing detail" which she piles up really carry 
conviction that Falstaff had promised to marry her ? 
What words toward the close of the speech come near 
to clinching the truth of the whole ? 

6. Compare this speech closely with Romeo and Juliet, 
I, 3, 16-48. With Mistress Quickly's style of invective, 
compare II, 4, 158-181, of the same play. 

7. Compare this quarrel, as to its cause, Falstaff 's conduct 
in it and its outcome, with that in Part I, III, 3, 60^. 

11,2. 

1. Under what circumstances and in what mood was Hal 
last seen ? How do 1—74 serve to bridge the gap ? Com- 
ment upon the underlying significance of line 1. Does 
Poins show the discernment of real friendship in 31-32 ? 

2. What passages do you find in Hal's speeches, 1-74, 



40 HENRY IV, PART II 

serving the same purpose as Part /, I, 2, 218-240, to 
those in Shakespeare's audience who might be unfa- 
mihar with the earlier play ? 

3. How much does the poet depend in this scene upon a 
knowledge of Part I ? What does this indicate regard- 
ing his audiences ? 

4. How much truth do you find in Hal's half-ironical 
words: "Thou art a blessed fellow to think as every 
man thinks " ? Do they apply in any way to the speak- 
er's life and character? 

=*5. Comment upon the speeches of the Page. Compare 
them with those of Mamillius in The Winter's Tale or 
of Arthur in King John or of the two children of 
Clarence in Richard III. 

6. What evidence that Hal and Falstaff are less intimate 
.-than formerly? Does Falstaff's letter show that he 
realizes this ? 

7. What exposition having to do with the serious plot in 
this scene ? 

11,3. 

1. With 18-32a compare Hamlet, III, 1, 158-162, and 
Antony and Cleopatra, V, 2, 76-92. What is the com- 
mon element in the loves of these three women ? 

2. What is Lady Percy's real reason for wishing to keep 
Northumberland from the war? Is her argument a 
good one? 

3. Compare this scene, as to its outcome, with Part /, II, 
3. Contrast the attitudes of father and son towards 
women. Why, probably, did Northumberland fail to 
appear at Shrewsbury ? 

4. What scenes are linked by this scene ? What augury 
for the rebellion is indicated? 

11,4. 

1. With 1-10 compare Part /, HI, 3, 1-5. 

2. Arrange 70b-73a in rhyme and rhythm. 

3. Compare 77b-78a with 137-143 and 150-163. Does 
there seem to be a slight suspicion of "swaggering" 



HENRY IV, PART II 41 

in Doll's mode of speech ? Does she really hate Pistol 
as slie says ? If so, should she not be able to produce 
a less fantastic reason than that he is a " swaggering 
rascal " and is "foul-mouthed " ? Compare V, 4, 17-19. 
What reasons for dissimulation might she have here ? 

4. What psychological peculiarity of the Hostess is shown 
in 79-118 ? Is there anything in common between her 
mental processes here and those presented in II, 1, 
92-112 ? 

5. What is the "humor" of Pistol ? From what source 
has he gathered his vocabulary ? What is characteristic 
in his paraphrase of the famous rant from Tamhiwlame ? 
Do you think this echo of stilted, artificial Marlovian 
tragedy was introduced with any special purpose into 
this broadest Rabelaisian scene of English low comedy ? 

6. What is the evidence in this scene as to Falstaff^ al- 
leged cowardice ? 

7. How does Falstaff's evasion in 345 J^"- compare in bril- 
liancy with those of Part /? What is the chief pleas- 
ure of Poins and Hal in these attempts to corner the 
knight ? With 305-306 compare Fart I, II, 4, 1-97. 

8. Give two reasons why the Hostess does not complete 
her sentence in 412-415. 

9. Note the intrusion of tlie outer world at the end of the 
scene. Compare Part /, II, 4, and III, 3. What is the 
artistic, or, perhaps, moral effect of this ? 

10. This is one of the most riotously comic scenes in Eng- 
lish literature and it justifies George Meredith's words 
about Shakespeare : "He had a laugh . . . broad as ten 
thousand beeves at pasture." Try to enumerate the ele- 
ments that contribute to the marvelous richness and va- 
riety of the scene. How much is due to broad character 
contrast? How much to the mere rough-and-tumble of 
high animal spirits? How much to obvious or subtle 
gradations and contrasts of peculiarities in diction and 
in use of the English language ? How much to setting? 

11. Does it seem to you possible that the man who con- 
ceived this scene and lived with delight into every line 
of it was a wizened, ascetic person, an aesthete, or a 



42 HENRY IV, PART II 

pedant ? Is It not clear that he must have been a man 
witli a large margin of physical vitality and a goodly 
capacity for sherris-sack ? 

Ill, 1. 

1. Can you account for the great poetic beauty of 4-31 ? 
Do you think it lies chiefly in the sensuous beauty of 
the versification, in the succession of images, in the situ- 
ation, or in all three perfectly harmonized ? Note the 
low, murmuring monotony of 7-8 and 10-14. Study 
carefully the alliteration upon sibilants in 8-14, upon 
u in 10-15 and upon I in 14-17. Explain, as far as 
possible, the effect secured in each case. Do not sup- 
pose, however, that these niceties are the result of con- 
scious effort on the poet's part. Do not suppose that 
this " murdering to dissect" will bring you even a little 
nearer to the mysterious, hidden soul of poetry. 
*2. What is there in 18-25 to justify Matthew Arnold's 
choice of the passage as one of his " touchstones " of 
high poetic excellence ? (See the essay On the Study 
of Poetry^ General Introduction to Ward's English 
Poets, and reprinted in Mixed Essays.) Do you think 
it is true of this, as of Arnold's other selections, that 
the effect of the passage is largely dependent upon 
the context and that therefore it fails as a " touch- 
stone" ? 

Collect from Elizabethan sonnets as many treatments 
of the theme of Sleep as possible. See list given in 
F. E. Schelling's The Elizabethan Lyric. Compare 
Macbeth, II, 2, 35 # 

3. Read 4-31 aloud many times, committing it to memory 
meanwhile if possible, until you are able not only to 
understand and to feel but also to interpret all its poetic 
values. This may not be the only way, but it is certainly 
one of the surest ways of growing to understand the 
inner meaning of great poetry. It furnishes the supreme 
test of achievement in literary study and is by very 
much more difficult than it seems. To this assignment 
you should give not less than half an hour. 



HENRY IV, PART II 43 

4. What evidence that King Henry is not meeting this 
rebellion as he did that of the Percies ? Why ? 

5. With 45-51a compare sonnet 64. 

6. With 70-77 compare Richard II, V, 1, 55-65. This 
is perhaps the only place in which the poet qnotes ver- 
hatim from another play written by himself. But note 
that it is carelessly done, since Bolingbroke was already 
king when Richard pronounced these words, and neither 
Bolingbroke nor Warwick was present at the scene in 
the tower. 

7. Under what circumstances and in what moods does 
Henry remember his vow to go on a crusade, as here, 
in 107-108? Is he prompted by religious impulse or is 
his promise a sort of bribe or promise-to-pay, driving a 
bargain with the Deity ? See also IV, 5, 210-213. 

Ill, 2. 

1. Enumerate the character contrasts in this scene. How 
are the mannerisms and characteristics of Shallow de- 
signed to set off the figure of Falstaff ? What contrasts 
in peculiarities of speech are presented ? 

2. What is the relation between this scene and Part J, 
IV, 2? 

3. Falstaff soliloquizes more than any other character in 
Shakespeare's plays, with the exception of Hamlet. 
What sort of pleasure does he take in it ? What does 
he talk about? Can you reconcile his enjoyment of 
soliloquy with his character as a lover of good company 
and of word-fence with a worthy antagonist ? To whom 
are his witticisms addressed in 89-320 ? 

4. Falstaff, like Shallow, has fondly preserved the mem- 
ories of his youth. The contrast between his juvenile 
tastes and his gray hairs is a source of constant glee to 
his companions, who call him " latter-spring " and " All- 
Hallown Summer." Why, then, does he make cruel 
sport of Shallow for this same trait ? What, if any, is 
the difference between the two young old men in this 
respect ? 



44 HENRY IV, PART II 

IV, 1. 

1. What is the chief oratorical merit of 30-52? 

2. Do you think tiie Archbishop's noble speech a sufficient 
apology for the appearance of a churchman in arms ? 
Why was such an apology more necessary in Shake- 
speare's time than in the actual days of Henry IV? 

3. The Archbishop's manner being so assured and his 
speech so sound in thought and phrase, do you not feel 
that he must have much right on his side? History 
shows that he had. Why has not the poet allowed us to 
see more of the king's injustice and more of the rebels' 
real grievances ? 

4. With 141-146 compare Part J, V, 1, 106-108. 

6. Comment upon the power of expression shown in 197- 
214. Paraphrase this passage. 

IV, 2. 

1. What theory of monarchical government underlies 
1-30? 

2. What is indicated in 62b-65 regarding the private or 
public nature of the war ? Is this condition peculiar to 
this war, or even to the Middle Ages ? 

3. What is the nature of the irony in 75b-76 ? Would it 
have been lost upon Shakespeare's audience ? 

4. With 79-80 compare IV, 1, 183-184. 

5. Note the passivity of the rebels when they learn of 
Lancaster's treachery. Do you think the poet should 
have given one of them a long speech of indignant 
protest, thereby showing the audience how to feel at 
this juncture ? 

6. What is the effect upon your feeling toward Prince 
Hal of this act of his younger brother ? Which of the 
two sons is more like his father ? 

IV, 3. 

1. What evidence as to courage or cowardice in 1-19 ? 
Explain 20-22. Paraphrase 33-35. 

2. Does it seem natural that Falstaff should quote from 



HENRY IV, PART II 45 

Caesar's Commentmnes ? Compare II, 2, 134-137. But 
note that the " thrasonical brag " of " Veni, vidi, vici " 
must have been widely known even among those who 
could not read their mother tongue. What attitude to- 
ward Julius Caesar is shown here ? Is it seen also in 
Shakespeare's play of the name ? Can you explain it on 
semi-patriotic grounds ? 

3. What phrase of extraordinary beauty in 49-61 ? What 
qualities of a poet does Falstaff jDossess and what does 
he utterly lack ? 

4. Is Falstaff anxious to be believed ? See 74-76. Com- 
pare this entire episode with Fart /, V, 4, 111 ff. 

5. What is Falstaff's manner toward Lancaster ? Is it as 
successful as usual ? Why ? Does this scene give you 
any new insight into the reasons for Falstaff's cultiva- 
tion of Hal's society ? With 90-91 compare Fai^t /, 
V, 4, 161-162. Compare the two brothers. 

6. Is there any truth in 92-93a ? Or is this mere egotism ? 
What evidence that Falstaff's pride is hurt? With 
93b-96 compare U, 2, 7b-13a. 

7. Falstaff's derivation of all the heroic virtues from sher- 
ris-sack is largely whimsical. Setting this aside, how 
much truth do you find in his fundamental thesis that 
" Never none of these demure, sober-blooded boys who 
love not men like Falstaff and whom one cannot make 
laugh, come to any good " ? How does all this bear upon 
your estimate of Hal ? 

8. Falstaff's genius is founded solidly, like all true genius, 
upon common sense. His common sense has not been 
duly recognized because it is so overwrought by the ara- 
besque leafage of his wit. Try to trace it through this 
greatest and most famous of his soliloquies. Do you find 
any wisdom whatever in his prescription of the use of 
wine to such " demure boys " as Prince John ? If possi- 
ble, compare his theories on this subject with those of 
the Falstaff of modern English literature — G. K. Ches- 
terton — as expressed in Orthodoxy. 

9. Several passages of Shakespeare, torn from their con- 
text, have been so widely quoted as to create a popular 



46 HENRY IV, PART II 

impression that the poet was in favor of total abstinence. 
After reading this soliloquy, manifestly written con 
amove, what is your opinion on the point? Compare 
Othello, II, 3, 280-316. 

IV, 4. 

1. With 1. 54 compare sonnet 70. How do you think 
Shakespeare learned this great truth ? How does the 
line bear upon the differences between Hal and Prince 
John? 

2. Comment fully upon 1. 55. 

3. Note that in 54-66 the king repeats the same forebod- 
ings which Hal successfully combated in Fart I, III, 
2, and in his later actions. Why does the king return 
to his fears ? 

4. Do 67-78 explain Hal's mode of life ? Is the explana- 
tion morally and logically sound ? 

IV, 5. 

1. Do you find Hal's action in taking up the crown and 
then leaving the room both natural and convincing ? 
Argue for or against. 

2. By what means does Hal quiet his father? Compare 
I Henry IV, 111, 2. 

3. What preparation in 213b-216? 

v,i. 

1. What is revealed in this scene regarding Falstaff's at- 
titude toward the i^rince ? What pathos and irony in 
this ? 

2. What scenes are linked by this scene ? 

V, 2. 

1. Dramatic purpose of the foreboding speeches of the 
Chief Justice and those about him ? 

2. In what connection have we heard before of the inci- 
dent mentioned In 70-71 ? 

3. Explain 89-90 in the light of previous events. 

4. We have been told many times that Hal proposes to 



HENRY IV, PART II 47 

change his mode of life. Are the events of this scene 
well chosen to show that he has so changed ? Why ? 

V,3. 

1. How does Master Silence illustrate in this scene the 
truth of IV, 3, 92^. ? Does he seem consistent with his 
name and with his character as previously shown ? Are 
we to accept the beautiful phrase, " Now comes in the 
sweet of the night," a§ original with him ? With 52b- 
53a compare II, 4, 396-397. 

2. Compare the "humor" of Pistol with that of Silence. 
Are these two characters " humors " in the strict Jon- 
sonian sense ? Compare the date of this play with that of 
Jonson's Every Man in his Humour, in which Sliake- 
speare acted. Note that Pistol and Silence are seen for 
the first time in Part IT. Note also that Silence is men- 
tioned in Jon son's Every Man out of his Humour, V, 
2, acted by Shakespeare's company in 1599. What in- 
ference ? 

3. Enumerate the character contrasts in this scene. 

4. Would the scene have been more or less effective than 
it is here if placed before rather than after V, 2 ? How 
does its actual position increase the irony in 128-145 ? 
How does it lessen our shock of surprise and pity in V, 
5,51#.? 

V,4. 

1. What previous scene does this recall ? Can you explain 
why Doll and the Hostess select just this special peculi- 
arity of the beadle's for abuse, in 20-34 ? 

2. What is the value of this scene in the way of prepara- 
tion ? 

V,5. 
1. What is the artistic and moral necessity of the " rejec- 
tion of Falstaff " ? How has the poet prepared for this 
by presenting the more corrupt and less engaging phases 
of Falstaff 's character in recent scenes ? What special 
preparation in V, 3 ? 



48 HENRY IV, PART II 

2. Should the part of Falstaff be acted here in such a way 
as to show a broken heart, a mind that has denied 
moral issues upon which the moral issue is suddenly 
forced, sudden realization of a misspent life, or merely 
the disappointment of an adventurer and a heartless 
parasite ? There are few passages in Sliakesj)eare that 
offer greater opportunities to the actor. Note that this 
acting must be done, for the most part, in a pause be- 
tween 1. 75 and 1. 76. Did Hal order the imprisonment 
of Falstaff? 



HENRY V 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. Does the poet gain more than he loses in sacrificing the 
great character of Falstaff in this play ? Why does he 
do so? If Falstaff had been retained, would he cut the 
same figure as in the Henry IV plays? According to 
Holinshed, Sir John Fastolfe was left by Exeter as his 
lieutenant at Harfleur. Recalling the popular identifi- 
cations of Shakespeare's Falstaff with Sir John Old- 
castle and with Sir John Fastolfe, together with the 
indignation of the descendants of these worthies, can 
you explain the report of Falstaff's death ? 

2. Note that the war is occasioned by the clash of personal 
interests, and that our attention is held to the fortunes 
of individuals. How much of this is due to the neces- 
sities of stage presentation and in how far may it be 
regarded as a correct representation of warfare in the 
late Middle Ages ? 

3. Outline broadly the various modes of appeal to English 
patriotism in this play. 

''^4. Comment fully upon Prologue to Act 1, 15-31a. What 
evidence is there here that the poet was well aware of 
the criticisms brought against the English chronicle- 
play technic in such works as Sir Philip Sidney's De- 
fence of Poesy and implied in the " classic " or " regu- 
lar " plays of the schools as well as in the dramas of 
Jonson ? How will the play foreshadowed in these lines 
differ from a Greek or Roman tragedy or from a play 
by Racine or Corneille ? 
5. Why was Shakespeare's technic so little affected by the 
arguments of men much more learned than he pretended 
to be ? What means is proposed by the Chorus by which 
the audience may partially offset the imperfections of 
the chronicle method ? 



50 HENRY V 

6. Does the dramatic or the epic interest predominate in 
this play ? Compare the two plays on Henry IV in this 
respect. Can you explain the slight difference on the 
ground of differences in the characters of the two kings 
presented ? 

7. Study the alternation of serious and comic scenes 
throughout the play. By what means are these two 
sorts of material linked together? Is this linking more 
or less successful than in the Henry IV plays ? Why ? 
Do you find that the serious action is less interesting, 
on the whole, than the comic, as was the case in the 
earlier plays ? If there is a difference in this respect, 
try to explain it.. 

8. Like most very great artists, Shakespeare admired men 
of action. Henry V is commonly called his " ideal man 
of action." But can you give reasons why he must not 
be called his " ideal man " ? Compare question 3 on 
1,2. 

9. Cite several instances each of economy in time, in place, 
in incident, and in character. A good example of the 
latter is to be found in the theft by Bardolph of the 
pax, a theft which Holinshed attributes to " a soldier." 
Where and why does the poet add characters and inci- 
dents to the account as it came to him ? This has to do, 
mainly, with the subplot. 



DETAILED QUESTIONS 

Prologue 

1. What several purposes are served by this prologue ? 
Does it lead you to expect a play in which the epic or 
the dramatic element will predominate ? 

2. In 8b-27, what is implied as to tlie sort of effect that 
Shakespeare tried to produce in his plays ? Realistic or 
symbolic in stage-craft ? Compare the effects sought on 
the modern stage. 

*3. Give two reasons why the poet is somewhat more sen- 
sitive than usual to the classical lines of criticism — one 



HENRY V 51 

of the reasons having to do with the peculiar nature of 
his material in this play and the other with the tech- 
nical ideas of his fellow dramatists which were being 
stressed at about the time the play was produced. 

1,1. 

1. How does this scene bridge the gap between tlie Prince 
Hal of the two Henry IV plays and the king of this 
play ? With whom did the idea of the French war orig- 
inate ? Why is the poet so careful to make this clear ? 

1,2. 

1. How do Henry's two objections to engaging in the 
French war do him credit ? 

2. The motives that actuate the churchmen to incite Henry 
to war are, according to modern standards, morally 
base. Do you think the man who could speak 21-28 
should have been able to see this ? How does the poet 
show historical insight in making Henry so largely de- 
pendent upon the advice of his clergy ? 

3. Does Shakespeare wish to interpret Henry's French 
campaign as a sort of holy war ? Why ? How does he 
show Henry in this scene as something more than a 
mere soldier king ? Does Henry see deeply into moral 
issues? Does his character seem the product of inner 
struggle or of outer action ? 

4. What is gained for the character of Henry by post- 
poning the entrance of the ambassadors and their in- 
sulting message until after the interview with the two 
churchmen ? 

6. As a matter of history, it is well known that Henry 
purchased the support of the church by his infamous 
religious persecutions. How does the poet warp these 
facts to his dramatic purpose ? 

6. Criticize the style of this and of the preceding scene, 
especially as to length of speeches. See 183-220. 



52 ' HENRY V 

II, Prologue 
1. How do these lines, like those of the first prologue, ex- 
hibit an acknowledgment of dramaturgic principles un- 
usual in Shakespeare's plays ? Would you attribute this 
to a recent and heated all-night controversy with Ben 
Jonson over the wine-cups at the Mermaid, or simply 
to the fact that in this play, for the first time in his 
chronicle writing since his work on /// Henry VI, 
Shakespeare is obliged to set much of his action outside 
of England ? Do you see any possible connection be- 
tween all of this and the fact that Henry V is the last 
chronicle play that Shakespeare wrote alone ? He had 
learned his art, especially as to tragedy, in writing 
chronicles. Does he seem, in this play, to have outgrown 
the form ? 

11,1. 

1. Note the similarities and contrasts between Pistol and 
Nyra. How does the action of Bardolph show up their 
essential similarity ? 

2. How does this scene connect the present play with 
// Henry IV? What other purposes does it serve? 
How is it related to the main action ? 

II, 2. 

1. Is the effect of 66-181 enhanced or weakened by the 
previous disclosure in 1-11 and in the Prologue to Act 
II ? How do 39-60 increase the effect of the scene? 

2. In Henry's unduly long and passionate speech, 94-142, 
does the extensive comment upon the traitor's past life 
and his relations to Henry advance the action or reflect 
character ? What is the purpose of this speech ? To 

" show that just before the great deeds of his mature 
manhood Henry definitely cut himself loose from his 
" wilder days " ? Or may we interpret the lyric inten- 
sity of this passage as arising from the poet's own sense 
of injustice in the faithlessness of one of his own friends 
— such as is vaguely indicated in sonnets 82-96 ? Some 



HENRY V 53 

critics who are worthy of a careful hearing think that 
Shakespeare often wrote of his own private life and 
emotions under cover of his dramatis personce. Hazlitt, 
for example, thinks that in his treatment of the refor- 
mation of Hal the poet was treating, in a broad and 
general way, experiences of his own. 

II, 3. 

1. Discuss fully the elements of pathos in this scene. Note 
that almost the only touches of nobility that we ever see 
in those present in this scene are due to the influence 
of the ignoble man who lies dead within. 

2. Although Theobald's wonderfully fortunate guess, 
" And 'a babbled of green fields," shines in the memory 
forever and has beauty enough almost to reconcile the 
poet's ghost to the two centuries of Shakespearean 
criticism, do you think it in harmony with Falstaff's 
character ? Or is there a peculiar beauty in the idea 
that after fifty, " or by 'r Lady, inclining to three-score," 
years of addiction to sack-and-sugar and kindred frail- 
ties, he should go away " and it had been any christom 
child"? 

11,4. 

1. In what ways is this scene designed to excite the pa- 
triotic fervor of the audience? How does it increase 
admiration for Henry ? 

2. What character contrasts are presented ? 

Ill, Prologue 
1. In the Prologue to Act I the poet has done little more 
than ask that the audience compensate in imagination 
for the inadequacies of his stage presentation. What 
does he do, over and above this, in the present prologue ? 
What influence had the poverty of Shakespeare's stage 
in scenic effects upon his art ? How does this prologue 
abridge the action ? Compare the first prologue, 28-32. 



54 HENRY V 

III, 1. 

1. Comment upon the lack of realism in this scene, a long 
speech spoken in the midst of battle. Explain it with 
reference to Elizabethan taste and staging. 

2. What are the merits of this speech to soldiers before 
battle ? How does it increase our sense of the richness of 
Henry's mind ? 

Ill, 2. 

1. Where have we heard before the sort of sentiment ex- 
pressed in 12-14 and where has the boy acquired his 
philosophy? Also, where has he contracted the habit of 
soliloquy ? 

2. What peculiarities of the Irish, Scotch, and Welsh, re- 
spectively, are presented in 61^.? Does the dialect 
seem good in each case? Comment fully. What sig- 
nificance do you find in the fact that representatives of 
the three Celtic peoples, always troublesome to Eng- 
lish kings, are here employed as officers in Henry's 
array ? 

Ill, 4. 

1. Farmer did not think Shakespeare wrote this scene or 
even authorized it. Give reasons for or against this 
opinion. Note that it preserves the alternation of serious 
and comic scenes, that it gives a glimpse of Henry's 
future queen before she appears in Act V, that it shows 
her taking the lessons in English of which she will stand 
sorely in need, and, finally, that it allows some time for 
the passage of Henry's army from Harfleur to beyond 
the River Somme. Compare III, 5, 1. 

2. What would be the effect of such a scene upon Shake- 
speare's audience — especially of Katherine's feeling 
that such English words as " foot " and " gown " " so7it 
mots de son mauvais, corrwptihle^ g'^os, et impudique " ? 
How much of Katherine's French was probably under- 
stood ? How is it cleverly arranged so that the mean- 
ing may be conveyed largely by gestures ? 



HENRY V 55 

III, 5. 
1. What is the purpose or value in the French king's call- 
ing over of the names of his vassals in 40^. ? Why is 
so much made of the sickness and famine in Henry's 
army? 

Ill, 6. 

1. How has the pedantic Fluellen been deceived by Pis- 
tol ? 

2. How does Henry throw all prudence to the winds, or, 
rather, Shakespeare all considerations of probability, in 
148 J". ? Note 152-153. Are not " craft and vantage " 
essential to all warfare, civilized or savage? How do 
you characterize the English idea of warfare, as repre- 
sented by Henry and Shakespeare's audience ? For, of 
course, the poet is here giving his public what it wants. 

3. Point out several respects in which these preparations 
for battle differ in spirit and method from what one 
would expect in modern warfare. Note the lack of 
secrecy, the personal animosity and insults, the condi- 
tions of the duel and the idea of trial by battle. 

4. Note and explain the variations between prose and 
verse in the last two scenes. 

Ill, 7. 

1. How does the boasting in this scene contrast with that 
of Henry in the preceding scene ? Does it show ego- 
tism or extreme self-confidence ? What is the poet's pur- 
pose in this contrast ? 

2. What features of this scene are overdrawn and calcu- 
lated to " make the unskillful laugh and the judicious 
grieve " ? Does Shakespeare seem to feel, here, that the 
censure of one judicious person should "outweigh a 
whole theater of others" ? Why ? 

3. How does the Dauphin contrast with Henry ? With this 
scene compare III, 5, 64-66. 



56 ' • HENRY V 

IV, 1. 

1. Comment upon 126-139 in the light of modern ideas. 
Did Shakespeare see the weakness in Bates's second 
speech ? Did he expect his audience to see it ? 

2. How do 136-139 and 140-153 throw all the dramatic 
interest of the situation upon Henry, thereby justifying, 
in appearance at least, the treatment of the battle as a 
purely personal matter? We know that Henry is not 
alone in danger and that many men are to die. But 
the dramatic method necessitates the treatment of great 
mass interests in terms of personal, individual interests. 
This is one reason why Shakespeare has been charged 
with aristocratic, anti-social prejudices. Can you detect 
in this scene an effort to compensate for this defect of 
the dramatic mode ? 

3. Which party has the better of the argument in 87-241 ? 
Does Henry's reply to Williams in 154-196 seem co- 
gent and satisfying ? Why ? Was it intended by the 
poet to be so ? Compare 247^7*- 

4. What examples of dramatic irony in 87-241 ? How 
does Henry's earlier training stand him in good stead 
here? 

5. What is the purpose and effect of 242-301 ? Compare 
this soliloquy with a similar passage in // Henry IV, 
especially as to poetic beauty and intensity. 

6. Comment fully upon 306-322. 

7. The poet has been at pains in this play to show that 
Henry, although England's greatest soldier king, is no 
mere Hotspur, living in and for battle. What has been 
done to show this before the present scene ? What is 
done in this scene? 

8. Point out passages in the scene in which Henry is trou- 
bled by doubts, fears, self-pity, the burden of others' 
woes, the sense of inherited guilt. Should a really heroic 
man be aware of these things or know what fear is ? 
Does all this tend to lower the king in your estimation 
and to give an impression of weakness ? Note that just 
at the time when Henry feels the whole crushing weight 



HENRY V 57 

of his responsibilities, he is called upon to strengthen 
others. What is the relation of this scene to III, 7 ? 
9. How does the effect of this scene compare with that 
made by Henry's speeches in III, 6, 148^. ? Can you 
reconcile the difference ? 
10. Explain variations between prose and verse in this 



IV, 2. 

1. What is the purpose of this scene ? What earlier scene 
does it resemble ? 

IV, 3. 

1. With 20-28 compare I Henry IV, I, 3, 206-208, and 
V, 4, 147-162. Explain the apparent contradiction. 

2. What merits do you find in Henry's famous speech, 
18-67? Where do you see the Prince Hal of earlier 
days in these lines ? 

3. What is the relation of this scene to the preceding and 
to IV, 1 ? How is the effect of Henry's heroism in this 
scene enhanced by IV, 1 ? 

IV, 4. 

1. With 1. 39 compare II, 1, 75, and with 1. QS compare 
II, 3, 58. 

2. What is the effect intended in this capture of a French 
" gentleman of good family " by such a person as Pis- 
tol ? 

IV, 5. 

1. Coleridge thought he saw a good excuse for these ^' in- 
troductory scraps of French instantly followed by good 
nervous Mother-English." Do you see any excuse ? 

IV, 6. 

1. What artistic and dramatic fault do you find in the un- 
historical material dealing with the death of York, and 
especially with the part that refers to his love for Suf- 
folk? 



58 HENRY V 

2. Discuss fully Henry's order to kill the prisoners and 
Shakespeare's method of treating it. 

IV, 7. 

1. How does Fluellen's talk about Alexander serve to 
soften the effect of the incident touched upon at the end 
of scene 6? What earlier instances of Fluellen's ped- 
antry and fondness for antiquarian parallels ? How does 
the environment enhance the humorous effect of this ? 

2. With 1. 66 compare 9b-lla and IV, 6, 37-38. 

3. Do you think 116-120 true to Fluellen's character as 
previously presented ? For what purpose is he suddenly 
made ridiculous, almost foolish, in this speech ? 

4. Why did the poet introduce the incident of the glove ? 
Does it harmonize well with the battle scenes ? Is the 
incident in keeping with Henry's character ? Note that 
Henry details two of the greatest lords of his kingdom, 
one of them his brother, to oversee a quarrel which he 
has instigated between a hot-headed Welsh pedant and 
a common soldier. What is the propriety or signifi- 
cance of this ? How is it related to incidents of the 
Henry IV plays and to IV, 1, 253 ff. ? Compare V, 
2, 126b-130. 

IV, 8. 

1. What preparation has been given for the piety shown 
in 1. Ill ? How does this contrast with Henry's man- 
ner of life in the earlier plays ? 

2. As an illustration of the differences between history 
and the history-play, note that 130-131 give an im- 
pression of victory, whereas Henry's first French cam- 
paign failed utterly in its real purpose. After the 
brilliant victory at Agincourt, Henry was obliged to 
hasten home with a starving, disease-ridden army. 

V, Prologue 
1. What is accomplished by this prologue that could not 
have been accomplished by more legitimate dramatic 
methods ? 



HENRY V 59 

V,l. 

1. Has Fluellen been consistently handled ? Note 78-81a, 
and compare the treatment of him in IV, 7. What are 
the elements of his character ? 

2. In Pistol we see the last flicker of the more ignoble 
phases of the dead Falstaff's spirit. Bardolph and 
Nym have been hanged. Mistress Quickly is dead. Why 
does the poet reserve the final disgrace of the weakest 
and worst of the group until the day of Henry's great- 
est glory ? 

3. Explain why Pistol speaks in verse while all the other 
inferior characters are content with prose. 

V,2. 

1. Criticize the style and thought of 23-67. What qual- 
ities of this speech may have been intended as charac- 
teristic of the French ? How does the speech contrast 
with those of Henry ? 

2. Explain Henry's use of prose in his wooing of Kather- 
ine. What is there in his manner that Shakespeare's 
audience would recognize with pride as characteristic- 
ally English ? Since Katherine was to be an English 
queen, she could not be used as a foil for Henry's ad- 
mirable qualities. What character is so used here ? 

3. Compare this wooing-scene with that in / Henry IV, 
III, 1. 

4. Was there danger that the present scene might destroy 
the play's unity of tone and the consistency of Henry's 
character ? Has the poet avoided this danger ? How ? 



KOMEO AND JULIET 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. Outline the plot. What is the initial incident ? Where 
is the climax of the action ? Outline the time scheme 
of the play. How is this headlong haste worked out 
in the characters as well as in the action ? 

2. Collect several passages of unmistakably early work. 
Place beside these certain other passages of work far 
more nearly mature in thought, feeling, expression, 
and versification. Define carefully the differences be- 
tween the two kinds. How do you explain the pres- 
ence of the two types of work in the same play ? 

3. Does the source of the tragedy seem to lie primarily 
in the characters, in the family feud, or in adverse 
fate ? Show that it lies to some extent in each of 
these but choose the most important source. 

4. Write a careful estimate of Romeo. Do you consider 
the treatment of his love for Rosaline a blemish upon 
the play ? Explain carefully the function of this ma- 
terial. What tragic fault do you find in his character ? 
Discuss the powers of his mind as those of a lyric 
poet. What evidence that the dramatist thought of 
him as a lyric poet ? 

5. How much is made of the family feud ? Why ? Does 
this seem good tragic material ? By what means is it 
converted into terms of personality — the only terms 
in which the dramatist can present the abstract ? 

*6. Collect the instances of tragic accident. How much 
place should accident have in determining the events 
of modern tragedy ? Why different in ancient trag- 
edy ? In comedy ? Does it seem to be given more 
or less importance and prominence here than in other 
Shakespearean tragedies with which you are familiar ? 



ROMEO AND JULIET 61 

Does this difference seem due to differences in char- 
acters and in purpose ? 

7. Is the poet trying, in this play, as in his later trag- 
edies, to present the tragedy of a powerful individual 
ruined by the warring forces of his own nature, or is 
he treating, in a more generalized way, the tragedy 
of youthful passion everywhere, in all time ? In what 
sense is Romeo a tragic hero ? 

8. There is no mercy in Shakespeare's tragic world for 
one-sided, overbalanced men. The counsel of perfec- 
tion is as imperative here as in the remorseless world 
of nature. Only the trifler can safely be one-sided. 
The strong man, like a tall tower, must be strong at 
all points or be torn in pieces by his own strength. 
What lack of balance do you find in Romeo ? What 
excess? What blindness to fact? Show that these 
things are closely related to his best qualities. 

9. Discuss the character of Juliet as to strength, delicacy, 
modesty, intelligence. What qualities of her nature seem 
merely the feminine counterpart of those of Romeo ? 
In what respects is she the superior of her lover ? 

*10. Discuss the function of Mercutio in the play. Study 
the character and psychology of the Nurse. Compare 
her with Mistress Quickly in II Henry IV. 
11. Does the play leave you with a feeling, akin to 
despair, that these two beautiful souls, trusting them- 
selves impetuously and whole-heartedly to the most 
inevitable law of nature and to their own highest in- 
stincts, have been ruined and crushed through a mon- 
strous injustice ? Or does the peace restored between 
the two families seem adequate to the price they 
paid ? Is this latter interpretation the one the poet 
would have us accept ? But we have loved this boy 
and this girl. How much do we care about the petty 
brawls of their families, after they are gone ? Where 
does Mercutio express this ? Does there seem to be a 
fault here ? From ^schylus to Joseph Conrad, high 
tragedy has ever been raising the insoluble problems, 
keeping us aware that we live in an unintelligible 



62 ROMEO AND JULIET 

world. In his first essay at tragedy, does Shakespeare 
succeed in giving this effect ? 



DETAILED QUESTIONS 

1,1. 

1. In what fixed form of verse is the prologue written ? 
Compare I, 5, 94-108, and the Prologue to Act 11. Is 
there any indication in the form and style of these 
passages as to the date at which they were written ? 
Do you think they are in good taste ? Is there any way 
in which they fit the spirit of the play ? 

2. Is the purpose of the prologue expository or dramatic ? 
Compare it with the Prologue to Troilus and Cressida 
or with any of those in Henry V. Do you find that 
some "moral" of the play is indicated here? If so, 
what is it? Is it a confession of weakness that the poet 
should have to tell us what the play means ? 

3. Distinguish Samson and Gregory. Are they consistently 
drawn or is their wit sometimes too good to suit their 
condition in life ? 

4. Mood and mental state of Romeo as presented in 125- 
161 ? Why is this given here, before Romeo's entrance ? 

5. Comment upon 157-159 in the light of the entire play. 

6. Elements in the description of Romeo's passion that 
mark it as boyish and immature or as manly and real ? 

7. Discuss 177-189. What is the nature of Romeo's talk 
about his love ? 

8. The prologue has indicated the existence of a feud be- 
tween the two houses. Why, then, is a street fight be- 
tween them presented in the scene immediately follow- 
ing ? Is the sympathy of the audience to be enlisted 
for or against the feud ? Why ? 

9. Character of the Prince ? For what later scene or in- 
cident is his present severity a preparation ? 

10. Into what three divisions does the scene fall ? In what 
order are the characters presented ? Explain the pur- 
pose of this order. Why is Tybalt presented here ? 



ROMEO AND JULIET 63 

11. This scene, although so full of stirring bustle, is really 
almost pure exposition. As such, it is one of the best 
that the poet ever wrote. Point out some of its excel- 
lences. 

1,2. 

1. Purpose of the first five lines ? 
*2. What is Juliet's age in Brooke's poem ? Why changed 
by Shakespeare ? An ancient church statute placed the 
age at which a girl might marry without her parents' 
consent at fifteen years. What is Romeo's age ? 

3. Character of Capulet as shown here. 

4. Show that the main action of the play begins with 
1.57. 

5. Does the list of guests read strangely ? Does it scan ? 
Comment. 

6. What is accomplished by way of exposition in this 
scene ? 

1,3. 

1. Discuss the character of the Nurse. Is she a type or an 
individual ? Do you think she was studied from the life 
or imagined ? 

2. Is any purpose of contrast served in the character of 
the Nurse ? Contrast of what nature and with whom ? 

3. Judging from 72-74, what is the age of Lady Capulet ? 
From I, 5, 34-36, estimate the age of Old Capulet. 
Why is the poet so careful to give these apparently in- 
significant details ? What bearing have they upon the 
position of Juliet ? 

4. Outline and criticize the metaphor of the book, 81-88. 
Compare The Rape of Lucrece, 99-103. 

5. Note the length of Juliet's speeches in this scene and 
compare with those of the Nurse. Indication regarding 
character ? Position of Juliet in her family ? How does 
her family regard her? What elements of pathos do 
you find in her position ? 

6. How does this scene advance the exposition? How 
linked to the preceding and to the following scene ? 



C4 ROMEO AND JULIET 

1,4. 

1. Dramatic value of Romeo's hesitation in going to the 
ball? 

2. Character of Mercutio ? How does his name fit him ? 
With what character does he contrast ? 

3. Comment upon the long Queen Mab speech, 53-94. 
Does it advance the action or have any bearing upon 
it ? Does it give us a clearer notion of any character 
except that of the speaker ? Is it dramatic ? Is it lyric ? 
Is it in harmony with the tone of tlie play ? 

4. Imagine this speech as spoken on the stage. Group the 
other characters about the speaker. Remember that 
the company is on its way to a ball. Would this be 
considered good dramatic writing to-day ? What dif- 
ferent standards of taste and different public demands 
upon the theater made it permissible on Shakespeare's 
stage ? 

5. What two scenes does this scene link together ? How 
does it assist in exposition ? 

1,5. 

1. Purpose of the bustling action of servants and of the 
conversation between the two Capulets ? What earlier 
bits of action and conversation have had the same pur- 
pose ? 

2. Has Romeo's love at first sight been prepared for ad- 
equately ? How ? How does he express himself about 
this new love ? Compare his speeches in I, 1. 

3. How has Juliet's sudden love for Romeo been prepared 
for? 

4. What dramatic and aesthetic purpose is served by 
sounding the jarring notes of Tybalt's anger just after 
the lyric solo in which Romeo sings his new-found love ? 

5. Discuss the character of Tybalt. Why is it made so 
thin and repellent? Compare II, 4, 18-19, and III, 1, 
80 and 104. What is Tybalt's sole function in the 
play ? Why and how are we here allowed to sympa- 
thize with him for a moment ? 



ROMEO AND JULIET 65 

6. Does Romeo act in this scene like a mature and experi- 
enced man under the circumstances ? Do we excuse his 
inconstancy to Rosaline ? Why and how is this made 
easy? What is the nature of this second love, as shown 
here, in comparison with the first ? 

7. What notes of foreboding are struck in this scene ? Is 
it a scene primarily of exposition or of real action ? 

8. This is the first of the five scenes in which Romeo and 
Juliet appear together. What is its general character, 
mood, or tone, taken as a whole ? 

11,1. 
*1. Outline the stage setting for this scene. See G. P. 
Baker's Development of SJiakespeare as a Dramatist, 
p.69#. 

2. Esthetic and technical purposes of this scene ? 

II, 2. 

1. Remembering that the scenes of this play were marked 
by editors — in this case by Rowe — do you think a di- 
vision is wisely made here ? 
*2. Outline the stage setting of this scene. See frontispiece 
to Albright's The Shakespearean Stage and the draw- 
ing of the Swan Theater facing p. 210 of Baker's 
Developunent of Shakespeare. 

3. Follow the movements of Juliet during Romeo's speech, 
2-25. 

4. Beginning with this speech and continuing through the 
scene, what changes in the manner of phrasing do you 
notice ? 

*5. Mood of Romeo in this scene ? Compare Juliet. Which 
dominates the other ? Which seejns the stronger ? 
Which sees more clearly the difficulties of their situa- 
tion ? Compare Ruskin's Sesame and Jjilies, paragraphs 
56-58, in the chapter " Of Queens' .Gardens." Which 
of the lovers is the center of interest l^ere ? How made 
so and why ? 
C. Why does not Romeo show more surpyis/e when he learns 
of Juliet's love ? 



66 ROMEO AND JULIET 

7. Compare Juliet's attitude and manner toward her lover 
with that shown this same day toward her mother. Com- 
pare especially the length of her speeches. Has the 
poet shielded Juliet from the charge of boldness ? If 
so, by what means ? 

8. In Brooke's poem, weeks elapse between the first and 
the second meetings of the lovers. How long here ? 
Why is it dramatically necessary that Juliet should be 
thus precipitate ? How is it made to seem reasonable 
that she should be? In what passage does the poet 
present an apology for her ? 

9. Dramatic value of the Nurse's interruptions? Com- 
pare the last lines of I, 3, and I, 5. 

11,3. 

1. Character of Friar Laurence ? How does his occupa- 
tion here serve as preparation for later events ? Note 
the moralizing nature of his first speeches. 

2. What is the value for the play of 1-30 ? How does it 
contrast in mood with the preceding scene ? Why is so 
much made, in this speech, of the opposing forces of 
good and evil in plants and men ? 

3. A " chorus character " is one that serves as a norm by 
which those about him may be measured. He often ex- 
presses the dramatist's own judgment upon the people 
and action of the piece. Does the term fit Friar Lau- 
rence ? 

4. What is the application to the entire play of 17-22 ? 
Compare II, 6, 9-l5. 

11,4. 

1. Value of 19-27 and of Mercutio's dislike for the art of 
fencing ? How does thi§ passage link I, 5, with III, 1 ? 

2. How does the mood pf Romeo contrast with that in 
which we last saw him ? Why ? Why is Romeo made to 
outdo even Mercutio, the arch-jester, at his own game ? 

3. By how much does this scene advance the plot ? Into 
what divisions does it fall ? What scenes are linked by 
the material of the last division ? 



ROMEO AND JULIET 67 

11,5. 

1. What is accomplished by this scene ? To what ele- 
ments does it owe its charm ? 

II, 6. 

1. Comment upon the Friar's opening words. In what 
mood are they answered ? Try to describe fully the 
state of mind in which Romeo speaks. 

2. What underlying meaning do you see in 16b-17 ? 

3. This is the third meeting of the lovers. What stage of 
the main story does it mark ? What is the prevailing 
mood of the scene ? By what contrasting mood is it 
colored ? 

III, 1. 

1. What is the dramatic purpose and irony in 16-33 ? 
Note that the immediate cause of Mercutio's fight with 
Tybalt is a mere pun, a quibble, which he makes him- 
self, in order to become the aggressor. Does he accuse 
Benvolio of any such extravagance as this ? Is it ap- 
propriate that Mercutio should die, so to speak, of a 
pun ? 

2. What new light on Mercutio's character is given in his 
words just before he is borne away ? What is the value 
for the play of the last words we hear from him ? 

3. What necessity of the Elizabethan stage is recalled by 
1. 110 ? 

4. Give several reasons why the poet found it advisable to 
have Mercutio killed early in the play. Show that his 
death was dramatically necessary. 

5. What new elements of Romeo's character are shown 
in 114-136 ? 

6. By what means is Romeo relieved of blame for the 
death of Tybalt ? Why was this necessary ? If you felt 
it necessary to blame him for this act, how would your 
feeling toward the entire play be affected ? 

7. Does Benvolio report the details of the quarrel exactly ? 
Why? 



68 ROMEO AND JULIET 

8. Character of Lady Capulet as shown in her two 
speeches in this scene? What is this preparation for? 
Is she one of those women who phice family feeling in 
the seat of reason and think with their prejudices? 
Who is the most hateful person in the play, now that 
Tybalt is no more ? 

9. Define carefully your feeling for Romeo at the close 
of this scene. 

10. Name several different lines of preparation for the 
events of this scene. 

11. How does this scene advance the action and what part 
does it play in the entire plot ? Where is the climax of 
the play ? 

Ill, 2. 

1. What features of Juliet's speech, 1-31, mark it as 
lyrical rather than dramatic? Can you justify the pres- 
ence of a lyrical passage here ? What other purely 
lyrical passages do you remember, from this play? 
Compare III, 5, 1^5. 

2. Criticize 36-68. Show that this passage would make 
very heavy demands upon the actress. Do you think it 
was written early in Shakespeare's career, or later? 
Why ? What preparation do you find in 45-60 ? How 
does this consideration help the entire passage ? 

3. Explain Juliet's outcry upon her lover for the killing 
of Tybalt. Had Tybalt been dear to her ? Is there a 
touch of heredity here ? How long is it since she would 
herself have looked upon Romeo as a foe and have 
spoken much as her mother has spoken ? 

4. Where have we had expressions similar to those in 
73-84 earlier in the play ? 

5. What do 97-127 indicate regarding Juliet's attitude 
toward her father and mother ? How do these lines in- 
tensify the effect of her utter loneliness? 

6. What new revelations of Juliet's character are made 
in this scene ? What is the purpose of the scene ? 



ROMEO AND JULIET 69 

III, 3. 

1. What important element of Romeo's character is shown 
by his manner in receiving the Friar's announcement? 

2. Is the extravagance of 29-51 the language of real pas- 
sion or merely the conventional rant of the Elizabethan 
stage ? Do you find single lines that are exceptions to 
your statement ? 

3. With 1. 98 compare III, 4, 8 and III, 2, 45-50. Com- 
ment. 

4. Do you think 108-158 a justifiable criticism of Romeo's 
general character and present mood ? What is the dra- 
matic value of this passage ? 

Ill, 5. 

1. Point out the elements of pathos, dramatic irony, and 
foreshadowing in 43-64. 

2. Nature of the consolation Lady Capulet offers in 70- 
74 ? What double purpose does tliis serve ? How does 
it serve at once as characterization and as an illustra- 
tion of Juliet's loneliness ? 

3. Discuss Juliet's evasive replies to her mother in 82- 
103. What is their moral aspect, if any ? What sort 
of pleasure would the audience take in this passage ? 

4. With 1. 141 compare 202-205. Comment. 

5. Discuss 214-227. Show that this advice is or is not con- 
sistent with the character of the speaker as previously 
presented. What is its effect upon Juliet ? How does 
it affect our sympathy for her ? What other passages 
have had a similar effect ? Compare especially 210-212. 

6. Outline the preparation that has been given for Old 
Capulet's harshness. What seems to be the poet's opin- 
ions on the subject of parental authority ? What do 
you think of Juliet's rejection of that authority ? Com- 
pare 204-205. 

7. By what successive steps has Juliet been rushed out of 
girlhood into maturity ? 

8. Point out some of the elements of pathos in her present 
condition. 



70 ROMEO AND JULIET 

IV, 1. 

1. Comment upon the form and manner of 18-38. What 
is Juliet's mood as she keeps up her part in this highly- 
artificial dialogue ? Compare 44-45. 

2. Compare Juliet's speeches in 44-126 with those to her 
mother in III, 5. 

3. What comment seems appropriate upon 1. 42 ? Upon 
81-85 ? 

4. What suggests to the Friar the plan outlined in 89- 
120 ? In what sense is this plan the germ idea of the 

entire play ? 

5. For what later scenes does this scene prepare ? 

IV, 2. 

1. With 1. 2 compare III, 4, 23-28. What subtle charac- 
terization do you find here ? What do such apparently 
trifling but really important matters as this indicate 
regarding the advantages to be gained in careful and 
close study of the poet? What do they indicate regarding 
the care with which the j^oet worked over his material ? 

2. How is the outcome of the plot profoundly affected by 
the change made by Old Capulet in the date set for the 
wedding ? Does Juliet realize this ? Is this arbitrary 
change characteristic of Old Capulet ? 

3. Is it artistically justifiable to base so much upon so 
slight and accidental a circumstance ? Is it " true to 
life " ? Explain the repetition of the announcement of 
the changed date in 33-40 ? 

IV, 3. 

1. What is implied in line 5 ? Considering that the Nurse 
makes no reply, can you see the reason why Shake- 
speare makes her false to Romeo in an earlier scene ? 
What does the Nurse expect Juliet to do ? 

2. Follow closely the emotional progress of the speaker in 
15-58. Discuss the power of imagination shown here. 
What does Juliet chiefly fear in the step she is about 
to take ? Are her fears physical or spiritual ? Is this 



ROMEO AND JULIET 71 

normal and right ? What finally overcomes her personal 
fears ? Do you think this famous and wonderful passage 
is entirely satisfactory, natural, convincing, or has it a 
theatrical air of unreality ? 
3. Describe the stage setting of this scene. 

IV, 4. 

1. How was this scene staged ? Purpose of the comic ma- 
terial ? What time elapses during the scene ? 

IV, 5. 

1. Comment upon the rant of 34-64. How does it com- 
pare in purpose with that of III, 3, 29-51 ? 

2. By what means is the mourning for Juliet made merely 
conventional, hollow, and unconvincing ? Is this in har- 
mony with the characters of the mourners as we know 
them ? Why is this done ? Why would it have been a 
serious error to have made this mourning very solemn 
and affecting ? 

3. Has the order in which the characters appear any rela- 
tion to the respective degrees of their sorrow ? Do we 
really pity any one? 

4. Explain carefully the dramatic purpose of 96-150. 

V,l. 

1. Value of Romeo's elation, 1-11 ? Compare 1. 24. 

*2. What change in Romeo's character is indicated or fore- 
told in his reception of the news ? Is his present action 
and manner consistent with his character as we know it ? 

*3. Explain the psychology of 39-48. Compare D. G. 
Rossetti's poem. The Woodspurge. Explain 80-83 and 
their fitness to the occasion. 

V,2. 
*1. What are the consequences of the accident indicated in 
8-16 ? See Dowden's discussion of this point in Shake- 
speare, His Mind and Ai^t. 

2. Purpose of this scene ? Why is it not made interest- 
ing in and for itself ? 



72 ROMEO AND JULIET 

V,3. 

1. What is the dramatic value of Paris's fear of being 
seen ? What light does it throw upon his character ? 

2. What is the mood of Romeo as indicated in 22-39 ? 

3. The killing of Paris is an incident of the poet's own 
invention. Does it add to the effect of the scene more 
than it detracts ? Apart from this consideration, is there 
any reason why Paris should die at the hand of Romeo ? 
Does Romeo act like a master of himself and of events 
in this scene with Paris ? ' 

4. Compare 88-120 with IV, 3, 14-58, for emotional 
range, poetic intensity, and character portrayal. 

5. Comment in some detail upon the change and growth 
in Romeo since his appearance in Act I, as indicated 
in this scene. 

6. Some critics think the poet missed a great opportunity 
for an effective and pathetic scene in allowing Romeo 
to die before Juliet wakes. Imagine the colloquy be- 
tween the lovers, had Juliet awaked before her lover's 
death. Would it have been pathetic ? Would it have 
been bearable, if done with an intensity in harmony 
with the rest of the play ? 

7. Do Juliet's last words seem adequate ? How do they 
differ from Romeo's ? Is this due to differences in char- 
acter, or to what ? 

8. With what material and in what mood does the play 
end ? Compare I, 1, and III, 1. 



JULIUS CMSAR 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. To show the simplicity of the plot material, outline 
the action in one hundred words or less. 

2. Give reasons for the play's comparative poverty in 
subtle analysis of character and motive and in poetic 
beauty. What is the influence, in this respect, of the 
nobly simple, austere, and somewhat stiff personality of 
Brutus ? If Antony had been allowed to dominate and 
determine the tone of the play, how would the play 
have differed in effect ? It would not be entirely mis- 
leading to compare, in this connection, the wonderfully 
rich and various Antonij and Cleopatra. Coriolanus 
also has a voluminous majesty and a sumptuous splen- 
dor which forbids the assertion that the simplicity 
of Julius Cwsar is due to the poet's estimate of the 
Roman type of mind. 

3. What powers of the poet's mind are scarcely brought 
into play in this drama ? What powers are clearly in 
evidence ? 

4. Try to define the exact nature of the pleasure you 
take in this play. Is it at all like the pleasure you 
take in any of the great tragedies or in any of the 
comedies ? 

5. Why is this play especially suited to the comprehen- 
sion of children and to the elementary type of mind 
among adults ? (This must not, of course, be under- 
stood to imply condemnation, unless we wish to include 
in that condemnation almost the entire tragic theater 

. of the ancient world.) What scenes do you leave out of 
consideration in your answers to this and to the three 
preceding questions ? 
*6. Would you say that in this play the poet's powers of 



74 JULIUS CiESAR 

expression are in advance of his thought or that they 
lag behind his thought? Or are thought and ex- 
pression in a nearly perfect equipoise ? Select several 
passages in illustration. Compare A Midsummer 
Night's Dream and The Terrfpest in this regard. 

7. Is the poet preoccupied here with the outer world of 
action, as in The Comedy of Errors, or with the inner 
world of thought and feeling, as in Hamlet'^ Or do 
you find in this respect also a healthy balance ? What 
is the bearing of this question upon the character of 
Brutus ? 

8. Suggest and support by argument what seems to you 
a more fitting title for the play. 

9. What important character contrasts are presented? 
What is their purpose or dramatic function? 

10. Write out a careful study of the character of Brutus. 
Try to determine how much the poet sympathized with 
Brutus and how far he saw beyond him. 

11. Discuss fully the treatment of the plebeians. Show that 
this treatment was necessary in order to provide the 
proper background for the chief characters. The chief 
characters are public men. How is their power to be 
shown? Remember that the tragic drama has always 
been and perhaps must always be committed to the 
"great man theory" of Carlyle and to something very 
like the " superman theory " of Nietzsche. 

*12. In spite of the above considerations, does the poet 
seem to have deepened his shadows unnecessarily in 
treating the plebs ? Is he essentially aristocratic in his 
social leanings and political thought, as Tolstoy be- 
lieved ? This important question cannot be discussed 
on the basis of one play alone. Coriolanus, Romeo and 
Juliet^ II Henry VI, 4j 10, should be compared. One 
must not forget the fact that the poet himself came 
from the very ranks of society which he so often de- 
rides. If it can be shown that he was essentially un- 
democratic in sympathy, then II, 1, 21b-27a, of the 
present play has a clear ai^plicatlon to his own case. 

*13. Compare the treatment of the common people in Eich- 



JULIUS CESAR 75 

ard II with that in the present play. Does the poet's 
scorn of the " great unwashed " go beyond the purely 
dramatic necessities of the case ? Is it not clear, at 
least, that Shakespeare had no sentimental illusions 
regarding the coarseness, stupidity, and fickleness of 
the lower classes, regarding their hatred and fear of all 
superiority, regarding their astonishing power of select- 
ing for trust and affection the man nearest their own 
level of mediocrity and vulgarity ? 



DETAILED QUESTIONS 



1,1. 

1. What exposition in this scene ? Is it cleverly introduced ? 
What action accompanies it ? 

2. For what sort of behavior on the part of the populace 
does this scene prepare ? Note especially 37-60. Is the 
influence of the people in later scenes of sufficient 
weight to warrant this strong foreshadowing in the first 
scene? Compare, in this respect, the first scene of 
Romeo and Juliet. 

1,2. 

1. What important character trait is marked in 1. 24 ? 
What hints regarding Antony and Casca do you gather 
in 1-24? 

2. What is the dramatic effect of the soothsayer's words, 
especially as spoken at just this time ? 

3. To what passions does Cassius especially appeal in 25- 
177 ? Judging from Brutus's character as shown later, 
does Cassius proceed in just the best possible way? 
Wherein does he show that his nature is inferior to that 
of Brutus ? What elements in his speeches seem to you 
particularly artful and telling ? 

4. Comment upon the masterly touches of characterization 
in 180-188. Compare 192-195 with 115-118. 

5. Discuss the character and mood of the speaker in 192- 
214. What effect did the poet intend by his stroke of 



76 JULIUS CESAR 

genius in 213 ? Compare the character revealed in this 
line and in the whole speech with the earlier statements 
about Caesar by Cassias. 

6. Does Caesar speak like an honored citizen in a democracy 
or like an absolute potentate ? Is Shakespeare intending 
to treat Caesar as a great hero and win for him all pos- 
sible sympathy ? Why ? 

7. What motive for Cassius's plot against Caesar is pre- 
sented here ? 

8. Explain fully the mood and thought of Brutus in 307- 
310. 

9. Compare and contrast Brutus, Cassius, Casca, as shown 
in this scene. 

1,3. 

1. What dramatic effect is intended in the storm and por- 
tents of nature ? Compare Macbeth, II, 4. 

2. Is Cassius more or less clever in his treatment of Casca 
than in his treatment of Brutus ? Why ? 

3. To what elements of Casca's nature does he appeal 
with special force ? Would the same appeal have been 
effective with Brutus ? Note 103-115. Why does he 
succeed with Casca so much more easily than with 
Brutus ? 

4. Summarize the exposition of Act I. Summarize the 
action. What character dominates the action thus far? 

11,1. 

1. Why is the material of 10-34 presented before Cassius 
returns to the attack or has made any definite sugges- 
tions for future action ? How much has Brutus been 
dependent upon Cassius's suggestions from the first ? 
Compare his manner in I, 2. 

2. Follow very carefully the movement of thought in 10- 
34. Does it show the logic of a man trained in action 
or that of an abstract, theoretical, idealistic thinker? 
Does Brutus fail, like many another academic spinner 
of syllogisms, to bring his logical conclusions to the test 
of experience ? 



JULIUS CESAR 77 

3. Caesar has said that Cassius " thinks too much." What 
did he mean ? Caesar was himself one of the greatest 
thinkers, in an important sense of the word, in all history. 
Would his statement have been at least equally ajDpli- 
cable to Brutus ? Prove your points by line references. 

4. How long a period is spoken of in 61-62 ? The Feast 
of Lupercal occurred on February 15. 

5. Does Brutus seem more or less conscious of the work- 
ings of his own mind than of external events ? Compare 
the state of mind and habit of thought shown in Mac- 
beth, 1,1, Iff. 

6. From 53-54, 113-140 and 162-183 infer the motives 
that have led Brutus into the conspiracy. By what 
means is the superior power of Brutus shown in d>Q>- 
228 ? What is the precise nature of that power? But 
in what respects is Cassius superior to Brutus? Note 
also the stiff, Puritanical attitude of 188b-189. Be care- 
ful to avoid the general tendency to over-praise Brutus. 
He should have known how to be honest and dignified 
without being ungracious and prudish. 

7. What dramatic effect is cleverly secured in the references 
to theatrical performances in 226-227, I, 2, 258-262, 
and III, 1, 111-116 ? Compare Twelfth Night, III, 4, 
140-141 and Antony and Cleopatra, V, 2, 216-221. 

8. What effect did the poet wish to make by the introduc- 
tion of Portia ? How does it deepen and enrich the char- 
acterization of Brutus ? Note that with the exception 
of this and the next two scenes the play deals exclu- 
sively with men. With this scene compare I Henry IV, 
II, 3, both as to management and as to outcome. 

9. Into what divisions does this scene fall ? What character 
dominates them all ? How is the personal power and 
prestige of Brutus shown at the very end? 

ir, 2. 

1. What is the tone of Caesar's words in regard to danger 
and superstition ? Do they show real common-sense and 
fearlessness ? Compare 5-6 with 38-43. With 83-90 
compare II, 1, 202-211. 



78 JULIUS CiESAR 

2. What finally determines Caesar to go? What irony is 
there in this ? Does he show himself a hero or a weak- 
ling in this scene ? Why and how is he made to do so? 

3. Wliat fine shades of difference do you find between the 
relations of husband and wife as shown here and those 
shown in the preceding scene ? How is it significant that 
the two scenes are set side by side ? Does Shakespeare 
seem to imply that one of the most important things 
we can know about a man is his attitude toward women 
and, if he be married, his attitude toward his wife? 
How do these two men stand this test ? The characters 
of the two women concerned are of course important 
factors in the case. 

Ill, 1. 

1. Discuss the merits of 1-121 as a tableau or stage spec- 
tacle. What opportunities would this passage afford a 
modern stage manager for effective grouping of masses 
of people ? Was Shakespeare's audience interested in 
this kind of theatrical effect ? 

2. How is Caesar made to justify, in a measm-e, the ac- 
cusations against him ? Make suggestions for the act- 
ing of the part of Brutus. 

3. Study with care the motives and mood of Antony in 
122-253. What have we heard of Antony before he 
appears ? What, especially, is Brutus' estimate of 
him ? What does Cassius think of him ? Which of 
these two is the more likely to be right ? 

4. What two serious errors in diplomacy are made by 
Brutus in regard to Antony ? Explain how he came 
to make them ^ . 

5. Have Antony's speeches the ring of sincerity ? Point 
out two or three lines of great poetic beauty in these 
speeches. 

Ill, 2. 
1. Discuss the merits of Brutus's speech with special re- 
gard to its adaptation to the audience and the occasion. 
What form and what length of sentence is mo^t em- 



JULIUS C^SAR 79 

ployed? Is the speech readily followed and its main 
points easily retained ? Does it make its chief appeal 
to the intellect or to the passions ? Does the speaker 
understand passion from his own experience so as to 
know how to guide and control it in others ? 

2. Answer each of the above questions with regard to 
Antony's speeches in 78-257. 

3. Comment upon the speeches and actions of the plebe- 
ians throughout the scene. 

4. To what elements does this scene owe its great effec- 
tiveness? Note the simplicity which it has in common 
with the entire play. Comment upon the use of char- 
acter contrast. 

III, 3. 

1. Purpose of this scene ? Was it written by an ardent 
democrat ? 

IV, 1. 

1. What new light is thrown upon Antony's character in 
1-40? 

2. What is the purpose of the scene ? 

IV, 3. 

1. How was this and the preceding scene staged in Shake- 
speare's theater ? 

2. Show that Brutus's error in regard to " better " and 
" older " is a strong touch of realistic detail, enhancing 
the illusion of reality. 

3. Does Brutus seem fair and just and more in the right 
than Cassius in 107b-113a? Which of the two bears 
himself in the more noble and inanly fashion throughout 
tlie quarrel ? Here, as always, a superficial answer may 
be worse than a wrong one. 

4. Is the announcement of Portia's death well timed ? 
Why ? How does the manner of the announcement bear 
upon the character of Brutus ? Do you find the man- 
ner of the announcement wholly admirable, as well as 



80 JULIUS CAESAR 

the trait of character which it reveals ? Is it more or 
less effective because given so little space ? 

5. What is Brutiis's philosophy, mentioned in 1. 145 ? 
How has it affected him ? In accord with the dictates 
of his philosophy, Brutus has come to fear a normal 
expression of normal emotion. Does this make for 
strength or weakness ? Does it really liberate him from 
the dominion of emotion? Does his sentimental hatred 
of sentiment make him in any way a braver or better 
man ? Comment fully upon 181-192. Does the upright 
Brutus prefer an unprovoked lie to a natural tear ? Do 
you think less of Cassius for his perfectly sincere reply 
in 194-195 ? 

6. AVhat effect is secured in 252-253? What similar 
effects in the following lines ? What is their purpose 
here ? 

7. What is the ghost of Caesar intended to symbolize? 
Why does not the ghost appear to Cassius also ? Com- 
pare the similar scene in Macbeth. 

8. The delineation of Brutus is now complete. He is, on 
the whole, one of the noblest men and one of the least 
fitted for this world in all Shakespeare's gallery. How 
has this powerful scene, which Coleridge said impressed 
upon him more than any other " the belief of Shake- 
speare's being superhuman," added to the portrait? 

V, 1-4. 

1. How do these scenes modify your feeling toward Bru- 
tus, if at all ? Show that in them he is still regulating 
his conduct by the " rules of his philosophy " rather 
than by any spontaneous moral sense of his own and 
is still somewhat awe-struck before the spectacle of his 
own nobility. 

2. What stage effect was sought by the poet in these 
scenes? Explain the decided falling-off in dramatic 
intensity and interest. Was this inevitable and due to 
the nature of the material? Why would it be less 
noticeable in acting, especially under Elizabethan con- 
ditions ? 



JULIUS CMSAR 81 

V,5. 

1. Does the conclusion of the play seem satisfactory in 
all respects ? Did the poet bring all his powers to bear 
upon this conclusion? Do you think that, in general, 
Shakespeare was as much interested in what happens 
as in how and why it happens ? 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. What are the actions or stories of the phiy ? Which 
are of major and which of minor importance ? Into 
what groups are the characters divided ? What char- 
acter is most important in each group ? 

2. Which is the main action ? Is it the most interesting ? 
Why? 

3. What action was probably intended as a foil or con- 
trast to the main action ? Does it perfectly fulfill this 
function ? 

4. Show in detail by what devices the various actions are 
interwoven so as to make a harmonious whole. 

*5. Write a brief study of the character of Antonio. Is he 
as interesting as he is admirable ? Do you think the 
poet succeeded as completely in drawing Antonio as in 
drawing Shylock ? Why ? Does he seem essentially 
Italian ? Compare and contrast him with his associ- 
ates. Compare him with the old Roman ideal of man- 
hood represented in Shakespeare's Brutus and with the 
ideal represented in the moral essays of Seneca, Marcus 
Aurelius, and Epictetus. 

*6. Contrast Shylock with Antonio. Which offers the 
greater dramatic opportunity ? Why ? Illustrate your 
answer by reference to Milton's Satan and God, Ten- 
nyson's Lancelot and Arthur, Browning's Guido and 
Pompilia. 
7. Do you think the play is well named ? Is Shylock or 
Antonio the chief and central figure ? In what sense ? 
Which is the spring of the action ? 

*8. What two main phases do you find in the character of 
Shylock ? In which of these does the poet seem quite 
fair to the Jew ? In which does he seem to echo popu- 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 83 

lar prejudice ? Compare, in this connection, Marlowe's 
The Jew of Malta. 
9. Shylock counsels prudence, industry, thrift, quiet liv- 
ing. The Italians are boisterous, spendthrift, frivolous. 
To which side do your sympathies lean ? How is this 
brought about ? 

10. Did Shakespeare invent or at least heighten these con- 
trasts for the sake of dramatic effect, or are the pictures 
of Italians and Jews true to the racial characteristics 
as you know them ? Do you think the poet cared more 
or less for verisimilitude of this sort than he did for 
dramatic effect ? Establish your answer by citations 
from other plays. 

11. What opportunities had Shakespeare for the study of 
the Italian temperament ? Of the Jewish ? Compare 
the Venetian temper and spirit as presented in this play 
with that presented in Othello, I, 3. Account for dif- 
ferences, real or apparent. 

12. State what seems to you the central theme or general 
idea of the entire play. In how many of the separate 
actions is tliis theme elaborated ? In how many is it 
merely touched upon ? 

13. Try to state concisely the artistic effect or "atmos- 
phere " of the play. What is the mood in which it 
leaves you ? By what essential quality do you remem- 
ber it when you have not read it for some time ? 

14. Can you see any illustration in this play of Horace 
Walpole's famous mot, " Life is a comedy to him who 
thinks ; a tragedy to him who feels " ? 



DETAILED QUESTIONS 

I,L 

1. What do you learn of the character and situation of 
Antonio in 1-56 ? What is the chief purpose of these 
lines ? 

2. Paraphrase 95-102. 

3. Are 79-102 intended as characterization of Antonio, 



84 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

of Gratlano, or of both ? Do you think Bassanio speaks 
the truth of Gratiano ? Compare Gratiano's loquacity 
with that of Sahirino. What effect has the loquacity of 
Antonio's friends, together with Bassanio's comment, 
upon your estimate of Antonio ? 

4. What connection is there between the meaning of " in- 
nocence "in 1. 145 and the common meaning of the word ? 
Study and compare the etymology and history of the 
words "simple" and "silly." Paraphrase or explain 
144b-145. 

5. What is your estimate of Bassanio at the end of the 
scene ? 

6. Of Antonio? 

7. What is the emotional effect of Antonio's engaging to 
trust Bassanio with further sums ? To what is this effect 
due ? What is its dramatic value or purpose ? 

8. Exposition in this scene ? 

1,2. 

1. What, exactly, is the tone of the conversation between 
Portia and Nerissa? What is the effect of Portia's 
criticism of the four suitors ? 

2. What is gained in probability in having the four suitors 
depart without a clioice ? Is their departure probable 
in itself? Why is this a matter of little importance? 

3. Exposition in this scene ? Is it introduced as deftly as 
in the preceding scene ? 

1,3. 

1„ What is Bassanio's manner with Shylock ? How much 
of this does Shylock feel and what is his response to it ? 

2. Why does not Bassanio understand at once Shylock's 
use of the word " good " ? Do you see any subtle char- 
acterization here ? 

3. Explain, by reference to the customs of his race. Shy- 
lock's distrust of sea commerce. What preparation is 
there in this ? 

4. Define the two senses of " be assured " in lines 29 and 
30. 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 85 

5. Explain the punctuation of 1. 43. 
*6. Comment upon the liistory of " interest," as iUustrating 
1. 52. Compare 62-63. See Bacon's essay Of Usury. 

7. Can you explain Shy lock's apparent hesitation, his ref- 
erence to Tubal, and his constant naming of the sum 
asked for ? What is the effect of this upon Antonio, in 
1. 106, and, earlier, upon Bassanio ? 

8. What is the evidence that Shy lock tells the truth in 
107-120 ? If it be truth, where does your sympathy lie 
in what follows — with Shylock or with Antonio ? Or 
is it divided ? Why and how ? Did the poet wish it to 
be divided ? 

9. What popular prejudice of the poet's time made a di- 
vision of sympathy here less dangerous to the success 
of the play than it would be to-day ? 

10. Outline from the beginning the very clever plan of ac- 
tion by which Shylock works upon the emotions, preju- 
dices, and irritabilities of Antonio and Bassanio so as 
to get what he wants. 

11. We have been made uneasy and solicitous for Antonio 
in I, 1. How and by how much is this feeling inten- 
sified by this scene ? 

12. How are Acts I and III linked by 181-182 ? Note 
that Antonio does not appear again, except for a mo- 
ment, until after his arrest. 

11,1. 

1. Estimate the character of the Prince of Morocco. How 
does he compare with the other suitors mentioned ? 
Compare him with Shakespeare's other Moor, Othello. 
What preparation do you find in his character as pre- 
sented here for his choice among the caskets ? 

2. Why are we given so much talk about suitors to Portia 
in I, 2, and why is one here presented in person ? 
Would the poet's purpose have been served as well if the 
Prince had been made less noble and less intelligent ? 
Explain. 

3. If the Moor's hazard is not to be made until " after 
dinner," why is this scene, without action, inserted here ? 



86 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

4. Explain the lack of parallelism in "blest" and 
"ciirsed'st" — one positive and the other superlative 
— in 1.46. 

11,2. 

1. Where and what have we heard of Launcelot before ? 
Is this primarily a verbal humor, or does it depend 
chiefly upon whimsical character and upon action ? 

2. For what purposes is this scene introduced ? How does 
it link the story of the caskets with that of Jessica ? 
How does it increase anxiety for Antonio ? Why is 
Gratiano introduced at the end of the scene ? 

11,3. 
1. What purposes are served in this scene? 

II, 4. 
1. Explain the talk about preparation for a masque and 
the appearance of the friends in masks in II, 6. Com- 
pare with this, II, 6, 64. 

II, 5. 

1. With 29-30 compare V, 1, 83-88. 

2. Is Shylock more or less appealing and does he attract 
more or less sympathy in this scene than in I, 3 ? Why ? 
Do you find any inconsistency in the two presenta- 
tions ? 

3. Define the two different ])hases of Shylock's mind and 
character. By what means are these differing effects 
secured ? For what purpose ? 

4. Enumerate the contrasts and antagonisms between Shy- 
lock and his Venetian environment as shown in this 
scene. 



II, 6. 

1. What bearing have 5-7 uj^on events in the play other 
than those which the speaker has in mind, and more 
important ? Is this true of the entire passage, 1-19 ? 

2. Does Gratiano add anything of importance in 8-19 to 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 87 

the statement made by Salarino in 5-7 ? Characterize 
this speech and compare it with the speeches of Salanio, 
Salarino, and Gratiano in I, 1. Can you bring to bear 
any evidence that Shakespeare's own mind works in 
this fashion and that, instead of being content with one 
statement of an idea, he frequently elaborates it almost 
beyond recognition, allowing his fancy to run on from 
image to image until the idea to be expressed is lost in 
the wilderness of expression ? Richard II, II, 1, 5-16, 
is a good example. If you decide that this is a gen- 
eral characteristic of the poet's style, try to determine 
whether it is more evident in the early or in the late 
plays. 

3. Is this a fault of style? To what habit of mind is it 
due ? Is it a characteristic of romantic or of classic art, 
primarily ? Of youth or of maturity ? 

4. Propose an explanation of the metrical peculiarity of 
1. 24. 

5. Paraphrase and explain 41-42. 

6. Is there any moral excuse for Jessica's theft from her 
father ? Any dramatic excuse ? Are the moral and the 
dramatic aspects of the act two different things ? Should 
they be ? Would they be so considered and so treated 
by Shakespeare in a tragedy ? 

7. Explain again, as above, the dramatic value of the 
preparations for the masque which is suddenly called off. 

8. Enumerate the several lines of action that have been 
started thus far in the play. 

II, 7. 

1. Do you think it is a fault of this scene that it has so 
little action and so little fire, enthusiasm and beauty 
even of diction ? Why ? 

2. How has the poet managed the matter of sympathy for 
the Moor, and why ? If the Moor was not to engage 
sympathy and not to be treated with all the poet's power, 
why was he given any place in the play ? The same 
question applies to the suitors who are not even pre- 
sented, but of whom we hear in I, 2. 



88 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

3. What is accomplished by tins scene ? Why is it placed 
here rather than after II, 1 ? Compare 44b-45a of the 
latter scene. How does this scene increase suspense ? 

11,8. 

1. Dramatic value of 25-26a ? How is Antonio implicated 
in the elopement of Jessica ? 

2. Compare 36-45 with II, 6, 5-7, and comment. 

3. Chief purpose of this scene 



. V 



IL9. 

1. How is suspense sustained by and throughout this 
scene ? What is the advantage of presenting a second 
suitor and a second choice ? 

2. What fault in the character of the Prince determines 
his choice ? Compare him, in this respect, with the Moor 
as shown in II, 7. 

3. What portion of his audience did the poet expect to 
have take seriously the moralizing passages in the cas- 
ket scenes ? 

4. Criticize the attitude of Portia daring the casket scenes. 

5. Enumerate the elements of suspense that have been 
presented up to the end of the second act. 

Ill, 1. 

1. Comment upon the syntax of 5-6. 

2. Explain the jest in 28-30. 

3. Compare 43-52 with 102-112 and comment. 

4. Compare 54-76 with I, 3, 107^7^- Note similarities in 
thought and expression. Has Shylock a style peculiarly 
his own ? Has any other character in the play ? 

5. What is the danger to the sympathies of the audience 
in these two eloquent speeches ? How does the poet cor- 
rect this tendency and avoid this danger in the present 
scene ? 

6. Does Shylock command respect and sympathy when he 
stands as representative of his race or when he stands 
solely for himself and his individual rights ? Prove your 
point by citations. Follow out this line of thought. Does 



MERCHANT OF VENICE 89 

the poet hold a brief against the Jews as a race or against 
this individual Jew in particular ? 

Ill, 2. 

1. Paraphrase 1-24. 

2. How does Portia's manner in these lines differ from 
that shown in her previous speeches ? 

3. Why are not the inscriptions on the caskets read as in 
previous scenes ? By what device is the omission con- 
cealed ? 

4. Trace the association of ideas in 73-107. 

5. Does Bassanio reveal his nature in his choice as clearly 
as do the Moor and the Prince ? 

6. How much do we know of the character of Bassanio ? 
Is he revealed in the more favorable light by wliat 
he says and does or by his friend's attitude toward 
him? 

7. What can be said for and against the probability or 
dramatic propriety of 116-130 ? Does the poet show 
a profound knowledge of the painter's art here ? 

8. In what ways would 150-177 be more pleasing to an 
Elizabethan than to a modern audience ? Why ? 

9. What is the artistic effect of the parallel courtship 
between Gratiano and Nerissa ? 

Ill, 3. 

1. What is the purpose and effect of this scene .'' 

Ill, 4. 

1. Mention other plays in which Shakespeare used tlie 
device referred to in 60-78. Discuss its effectiveness 
and utility, remembering that the parts of women were 
taken by boys in Shakespeare's theater. 

Ill, 5. 

1. For what mechanical purj^ose was this scene inserted ? 
Does it advance the action ? Is it interesting for itself ? 
Compare II, 2. Note that in both cases the outdoor 
scene stands between two indoor scenes. 



90 MERCHANT OF VENICE 



IV, 1. 



1. What preparation has been made for the Duke's atti- 



tud 



2. With 6-13 compare III, 2, 296-299. In how many 
ways does the character of Antonio remind you of 
the old Roman ideal of manhood ? 

3. What great modern, almost contemporary, English 
poem is recalled by 1. 66 ? 

4. Comment upon the propriety of the pun in 1. 123, 
considering the attendant circumstances. How could 
it have been made intelligible in speech ? 

5. How could Portia know that the Duke had sent for 
Bellario ? Is this an important matter ? Is it a mat- 
ter more easily discernible to a reader than to a spec- 
tator ? For which was the jjoet writing ? 

6. Scan 1. 173. Illustrate the connection between 
" through " and " thorough." 

7. What leads to the use of the word " strained " in 
1. 184 ? Its meaning here ? 

8. To what do you attribute the magical imitative effect 
of 185-186a ? 

9. Read aloud 184-205 many times, until you have sat- 
isfied yourself with the inflection, time, and pitch 
given to each syllable. This is the sort of exercise 
that looks easy and is exceedingly dijBficult. It is also 
of the utmost value and importance. Memorize the 



10. Is the great force and appeal of this passage due pri- 
marily to the fact that it enunciates a noble ethical 
doctrine or to the fact that it clothes great moral truth 
in a beautifully fitting garment of poetry ? Might not 
every essential idea of the passage be put into a ser- 
mon that would be hopelessly dull and uninspiring ? 

11. To what plea or argument or mental attitude of Shy- 
lock's is this speech an answer ? How does it illus- 
trate the contrast between the Hebraism of the Old 
Testament and the Christianity of the New Testa- 
ment ? Compare 228-230a. 



MERCHiVNT OF VENICE 91 

12. Explain the plural sense of " balance " in 1. 255. 

13. Compare 315-316 with 184-205 and comment. 
*14. In what essential respects does the court procedure 

differ from that of to-day ? Wliat was the method of 
remunerating lawyers in ancient Greece and Kome ? 
In Shakespeare's day? What connection has this 
matter with the fall of Sir Francis Bacon ? 
15. Show that in 449-451, as elsewhere, Antonio's no- 
bility is evinced rather by what he refrains from say- 
ing than in what he says. Contrast him, in this 
respect, with his associates. Why is it peculiarly dif- 
ficult to show, in drama, the nobility of reticence ? 
Is this one reason why the character of Antonio is, at 
first acquaintance, somewhat disappointing, or even 
uninteresting ? 

IV, 2. 

1. At the end of this act, what suspense remains unsat- 
isfied, what action unclosed ? Of how long standing is 
this action ? Is it of sufficient interest and importance 
to sustain the entire concluding act? Or were its 
lightness and triviality expressly designed to conclude 
the play in the tone of comedy, which has been endan- 
gered by Act IV ? 

V,l. 

1. To what elements do the first four speeches owe their 
poetic beauty ? Comment especially upon the third — 
9-12. 

2. What is the effect of the classical allusions — especially 
as following close upon the tense and painful court- 
room scene ? 

3. Trace closely the association of ideas leading the speak- 
ers down from ancient Troy to their own affairs. 

4. What bearing have these opening lines upon the ques- 
tion as to whether Shakespeare had ever traveled in 
Italy? 

5. Do the entrances of the messenger and the clown dis- 
turb or increase the effect of quiet and magical beauty ? 



92 MERCHANT OF VENICE 

6. How does the poet wrest to poetic uses the very pov- 
erty of his stage setting in 54-62, 89-90, 92 and 100 ? 
Commit to memory 58-65. 

7. What is the common situation of all those present 
which makes them unusually susceptible to the beauty 
of the night ? Note 107-108. 

8. Compare 124-126 with 1. 92. 

9. Is unity of tone preserved throughout the remainder 
of this act ? 



MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. Enumerate the actions of the plot. Trace their inter- 
relations. Which is the main action ? How does the 
treatment of one of the subplots protract the suspense 
of the main action ? How does the climax of the main 
action force the solution of one of the subplots? 

2. How many days elapse during the action? How many 
days are actually shown? Point out instances of econ- 
omy in time. Where miglit a less careful artist have 
felt that he needed more time than is used here? Do 
you find instances of artificial hastening of events? 

3. How does the action grow out of past events ? What 
suggestions do you find, especially in Act I, that the 
chief persons of the drama have been long acquainted? 
Why is this done? In general, discuss the divergence 
between tlie actual time, which the poet records 
carefully, and the apparent time, the illusion of which 
he builds up with equal care and with astonishing dex- 
terity. Do you know of any other Shakespearean play 
in which this divergence is found ? 

4. Cite instances of. economy in character and incident. 
Note, for example, that Don Jolin's intrigue is utilized 
twice — once to provide dramatic entanglement and 
again to bring Benedick and Beatrice together. This 
is an admirable example of economy in incident. How 
does the Benedick-Beatrice plot play into, support, and 
contrast with the main plot, so as to give a beautiful 
effect of dramatic unity? How is the " low comedy " 
welded into the main action ? 

5. Point out both tragic and farcical material in the action 
of the play. Do these interact and are they colored 
and manipulated in such a way as to produce the 



94 MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING 

effect of pure comedy? Point out several places in 
which the poet is in clanger of producing a tragical 
or a farcical effect. How does he escape this danger, 
in each instance? What two characters are conceived 
not at all in the spirit of tragedy, nor in that of farce, 
but of pure comedy ? Does this ex^jlain the prominence 
given to them ? 

6. By what means has the villainy of Don John and Bo- 
rachio been robbed of tragic effect ? How would the 
poet's treatment of this villainy have differed had he 
been writing a tragedy ? 

7. Define carefully the spirit or atmosphere created by 
the first two acts and enumerate in some detail the 
various touches to which it is due. 

8. Study the character contrasts in the play. What use 
is made of them ? For example, how does the charac- 
ter of Benedick assist in the portrayal of the very diffi- 
cult character of Claudio and helj) us to make a more 
just and sympathetic estimate of Claudio's action ? Do 
you think this device of character contrast is overdone 
in the case of Beatrice and Hero ? That is, does it de- 
feat the poet's purpose and endanger the preeminence 
of the heroine? Is this true also in the case of Bene- 
dick and Claudio? How was a similar danger avoided 
in Romeo and Juliet ? 

9. By what means does the poet try to soften the unduly 
tragic effect of his main-plot material ? In this connec- 
tion, consider : low-comedy relief ; the shallowness of 
Claudio and Hero ; the nature of their love ; the verbal 
frivolity and persiflage of Benedick and Beatrice ; the 
postponement of the rejection scene to the fourth act 
and the hurried conclusion which leaves no time for 
reflection ; the general evasion of moral issues. It is 
clear that the poet uses great ingenuity. Does he suc- 
ceed? 

10. What sort of apology is made for the ugly action of 
Claudio ? Note the insistence upon his extreme youth 
in 1, 1, 12-15, and follow up this suggestion throughout 
the play. In what sense is Claudio hero of the play ? 



MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING 95 

What similar problem did the poet face in connection 
with Hero and how did he solve it? 
11. How and why does this play fail to satisfy the de- 
mands of the Spirit of Comedy as Twelfth Night and 
As You Like It satisfy it? 
"^12. Read George Meredith's essay On the Uses of the 
Comic S^nrit and criticize this play in the light of the 
ideal there expressed. 



DETAILED QUESTIONS 

1,1. 

1. Point out cases of affected alliteration, antithesis, and 
" euphuism " in the messenger's speeches. Where does 
Leonato return in kind? How does this prepare for the 
verbal fencing of Benedick and Beatrice ? 

2. Note all references to past time. Purpose and effect 
of these ? Note also that Claudio's uncle, named in 18- 
25, does not appear in the play. Why is he mentioned? 
What is the effect of the nick-name by which Beatrice 
refers to Benedick ? Compare 119-120. 

3. What exposition in 1-95? Why does this precede the 
entrance of Don Pedro and his company? 

4. Explain Benedick's motive in 125-128. What is the 
motive behind the reply ? Are the two speakers sincere ? 
Compare 167-170. 

5. With 158-159 compare King Lear, II, 2, lOlb-110. 
If this were a tragedy, what result should we expect 
from this dalliance of the forces of good with the forces 
of evil ? What result do we anticipate here, in a comedy, 
and what is the dramatic effect produced ? (Much 
would depend, of course, upon the stage appearance and 
make-up of the villain.) 

*6. How does Benedick tempt the Nemesis of comedy in 
240 _^. ? What do his boastful protestations lead us to 
expect ? Note that he is affecting a peculiarity of ex- 
emption from the most powerful and inevitable law of 
nature. The arrows of comedy are levelled most uner- 



96 MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING 

ringly against singularities of this sort and against all 
that offends common sense. Compare the central idea 
of Love's Labour 's Lost. 
7. Explain the change to verse after 1. 291. Comment 
upon the differences in prose rhythm between the 
speeches of Benedick and Claudio in 172-205. 

*8. Compare the relations existing between Claudio and 
Don Pedro with those between Bassanio and Antonio 
in the Merchant of Venice. With Benedick in this scene 
compare Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. 
9. Infer from 1. 296 the depth of Claudio's passion. What 
bearing has this upon later events ? Is such a love likely 
to afford material for tragedy? 

10. What exposition in this scene? What action is started? 
Note the dexterity with which exposition and action are 
interwoven. 

1,2. 

1. With this mention of Antonio's son, who does not ap- 
pear, compare I, 1, 18-25, and comment. 

2. What advantage is gained by the distortion of fact in 
7-16 ? 

3. Purpose and effect of this scene ? Compare Romeo and 
Juliet, I, 5. 

1,3. 

1. Wliat is the underlying cause of Don John's mood as 
presented in 1-42 ? Why is the poet so careful to reveal 
this mood and its cause ? What further motive do you 
discover in 42-77 ? 

2. Comment upon the profound insight shown by the poet 
in 73-74. 

*3. Is Don John a dangerous villain, like lago ? Wliat are 
his relations with his followers ? Does he reveal his 
real nature to them ? Compare lago. 

4. How many conferences have there been between Don 
Pedro and Claudio? After reading I, 2, 7-16, and 
I, 3, 60-66, criticize the stage setting of 1, 1, found in 
most editions, but due to modern editors, " Before Leo- 
nato's House." 



MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING 97 

5. What complicating factor is added to the action in 

this scene ? 

11,1. 

1. How many times has Beatrice seen Don John, so far 
as the play indicates ? But what is the implication of 
4-6 ? Purpose of this ? 

2. What material of I, 1, are Beatrice's speeches in 
1-86 intended to parallel ? How is the character of 
Hero shown in these lines ? 

3. Read over all of Antonio's previous speeches and com- 
ment upon 126-127. 

4. With 155-156 compare I, 1, 50-52. 

5. How do 90-160 advance the action or give new in- 
sight into character ? Have these lines any other 
purpose ? 

6. Since 167-189 lead to nothing, why are they used ? 
What insight do they give into the character of 
Claudio ? How do they imitate, in little, the action of 
the play and induce a receptive attitude toward what 
is difficult to believe in that action ? This is one of 
Shakespeare's cleverest dramatic devices. 

7. Comment upon the irony of 185-l86a. Why are 179- 
189 in verse ? 

8. With 182-184 compare sonnets 40-42 and Two Gen- 
tlemen of Verona, V, 4, 53b-54a. 

9. Why is Benedick so much more voluble against Bea- 
trice in 246-280 than he was when in her presence ? 

10. What great romantic enthusiasm of Shakespeare's 
time is reflected and mildly ridiculed in 271-280 ? 

11. How is the illusion of dramatic tipie heightened in 
287-291 ? 

12. Is it clear from this scene that Hero has expected to 
be the bride of Don Pedro and that she accepts Claudio 
as a substitute ? Why is she made §q morally worth- 
less? 

13. What considerations of probability necessitated the 
postponement of the wedding? Note t|ie care with 
\vhich the action is dated. 



98 MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING 

II, 2. 

1. What bearing have 12-14 upon the illusion of dra- 
matic time ? 

2. How are the two plots or intrigues now under way- 
connected, if at all ? How are they contrasted in the 
motives behind them ? 

11,3. 

1. What instances of irony in 5-58 ? How much of this 
would be appreciated by an audience ignorant of the 
outcome ? 

2. Explain the change to verse in 1. 39. 

*3. Does it seem significant that Benedick is no lover of 
music ? Compare the same trait in Hotspur, Othello, 
and Prince Hal. But see Merchant of Venice^ V, 1, 70 
ff. To what class of men did Shakespeare ascribe this 
dislike of music or indifference to it? Where did the 
poet's own sympathies lie ? Note that even in his mock- 
ery Benedick is made to give powerful expression to 
the mystery of musical influence, just as Theseus really 
praises poetry in his attempt to condemn it. 

4. What is the relation of the song to the main theme of 
the play ? What person of the drama, not present on 
the stage, is represented in mood and manner by the 
song? 

5. What twofold appeal is made to the eavesdropping 
Benedick in 91-217 ? How is this shown in 228-255 ? 
With 239-245 compare 26-38. 

6. What parallelism and contrast do you find between 
5-58 and 228-255 ? 

7. Can you date this scene ? 

III, 1. 

1. How and why is Margaret kept out of this plot ? 

2. Would the simile in 7-lla assist the audience in im- 
agining the "pleached bower," wliich was represented 
on the stage, if at all, in only the vaguest symbolic 
fashion ? Criticize the simile on the ground of good 



MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING 99 

taste. What do you think may have led the poet to 
write it ? 

3. Point out, in 1-36, several passages tending to give 
the scene a tone and feeling of the open air. What 
similar effects do you recall from other plays ? 

4. Comment upon the irony in 84-87. 

5. Explain the blank verse in this scene as against the 
prose in the preceding. Why is the scene shorter than 
11,3? 

6. Do Hero and Ursula make the same appeals to 
Beatrice as were made before to Benedick ? Explain 
differences. How does Beatrice's response differ from 
Benedick's ? 

7. What is the date of this scene ? See 100-101. 

Ill, 2. 

1. With 1-75 compare II, 3, 243^. With 43-49 com- 
pare II, 1, 31-40. 

2. Study very carefully Claudio's manner when he hears 
the calumny against Hero. Why did the poet think it 
necessary to make him so dastardly? To what ele- 
ments of his character does Don John successfully ap- 
peal? 

3. Study the attitudes of the two half brothers towards 
each other. What peculiarity of Don John's becomes 
of value to the poet at this point ? 

4. Point out two lines of contrast between the two parts 
of this scene. 

5. On what day does the action of this scene occur ? 

Ill, 3. 

*1. Why is the character of Verges added to that of Dog- 
berry? Compare Justices Shallow and Silence in II 
Henry IV, Shallow and Slender in The Merry Wives, 
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Hamlet. In the'pres- 
ent couple, what nice shadings of difference are dis- 
cernible ? 
2. W^hat special delight, nearly lost to us, would an Eliza- 
bethan audience take in 1-101 ? Discuss the propriety 



100 MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING 

of making these watchmen so patently English in char- 
acter and manner. Mention similar features in other 
plays. This is Shakespeare's almost constant practice in 
low comedy scenes. What did he gain by it and what 
did he lose ? Do you think he felt that while pathos and 
wit are cosmopolitan and universal, humor is more 
likely to be local or racial ? Is there a possible connec- 
tion between this practice and the fact that low comedy 
was of native English growth while high comedy was 
an importation, as to form, matter, and spirit, from 
Europe ? 
3. What evidence in Borachio's speeches that he is drunk ? 
Note that his name is close to the Spanish for " wine- 
skin " or " drunkard " and was used in the latter sense 
in England for a century after Shakespeare's time. 
*4. What varying effects of intoxication are shown : in 
Cassio, Othello, II, 3 ; in Lepidus, Antony and Cleo- 
patra, II, 7 ; in Shallow and in Silence, II Henry IV, 
V, 3 ; in Caliban, Tempest, III, 2 ; in Falstaff, / and 
// Henry IV and Merry Wives, passim ? Is the last 
a good example ? Why ? 

5. What advantages, in the way of probability, are gained 
by presenting Borachio drunk ? 

6. How is the tragic effect of Don John's plot and of IV, 1, 
softened by the detection made in this scene ? But how 
is suspense retained, at the same time, by the manner 
and instruments of that detection ? This is but one 
touch out of the many that make the present play one 
of the most consummate pieces of stage-craft. 

Ill, 4. 

1. What is the purpose of this scene ? With what earlier 
scene is it parallel ? What is indicated by the mood of 
Hero ? 

Ill, 5. 

1. How does this scene weld the low comedy into the main 
plot ? How does it increase suspense ? What is the sig- 
nificance of its position just before IV, 1 ? 



MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING 101 

2. Study the psychology and character of Dogberry. 

3. Why is it necessary that Leonato should not know of 
Don John's intrigue until after IV, 1 ? Show, then, 
that the characters of Dogberry and Verges were de- 
signed to meet precisely this exigency of the plot. 

IV, 1. 

1. Explain the change to verse in 1. 23. What elements 
of theatrical posing and false rhetoric do you find in 
Claudio's speeches ? 
*2. Study very carefully Hero's reaction in this renunci- 
ation scene. Is it that of a person of any moral worth 
or strength ? Note that earlier in the play she has ac- 
cepted Claudio in lieu of Don Pedro, under paternal 
orders, with perfect sweetness and equanimity. Does 
the poet wish us to sympathize with her deeply ? Com- 
pare Desdemona and Imogen. 

3. What can be said in favor of Claudio and Hero in this 
scene? Notice their youth, docility, self-respect, con- 
scious purity. Do you find their virtues vivid and posi- 
tive or futile and sterile ? 

4. What dramatic value do you find in the easy credulity 
of Leonato ? Is this attitude of liis in keeping with his 
character as it has been shown before ? 

5. Explain the use of "shall" and "will" in 1. 211. 

6. Does the Friar advance any reason for his plan other than 
that mentioned in 212-213 ? What incident in Romeo 
and Juliet does this plan recall ? Compare the two. 

7. Comment upon the action of Benedick and Beatrice in 
1-256. 

8. Explain the change to prose in 1. 257. What is the mood 
of Benedick and what is that of Beatrice at the opening 
of their interview ? How is this mood colored by : their 
former relations; the intrigue of the Prince to bring them 
together ; the climax of the main plot just preceding ? 

9. What has been the chief obstacle to their love hitherto ? 
How is this removed by the experience of Hero ? 

10. How do 257-340 join the serious and the comic plots 
insolubly together and wrest Don John's tragic intrigue 



102 MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING 

to comic uses ? Note, however, that in this contact, a 
touch of tragedy is communicated from the one to the 
other. What is this ? Meantime, what tincture of com- 
edy is spreading over the Don John intrigue ? 

11. How do 257-340 serve as a modulation from the key 
of 1-256 to that of IV, 2 ? What stage is marked in 
the comic plot by these lines? 

12. Carefully review this scene, one of the most masterly 
and famous in Shakespeare's theater, making an esti- 
mate of its richness and variety in mood, motive, emo- 
tion, character, and poetry. 

13. Why should this scene be called the climax of the play ? 
(The chief reason for the postponement of the climax 
until the fourth act seems to lie in the tragic coloring of 
the main plot and the consequent necessity of hastening 
to a conclusion appropriate to comedy before the moral 
question becomes too pressing.) 

IV, 2. 

1. What person present at this trial scene assures us at 
once, so that we may enjoy the fun, that there will be 
no repetition of former blunders ? 

2. By what means has Dogberry been raised to the duties 
of magistrate ? Does he appear familiar with those 
duties ? What has been the effect upon him of his new 
dignities ? What is the cause of his indignant outburst 
in 76 ff. ? Is there an unintentional pun in 1. 77 ? 

3. Why was this scene made to follow immediately upon 
IV, 1? 

v,i. 

1. With 35-36 compare III, 2, 28-30. With 1. 26, com- 
pare III, 2, 72. Do you think such correspondencies 
are accidental or do they serve some aesthetic purpose ? 
Compare the reminiscential themes in orchestral music, 
frequently employed to bind together the movements of 
a symphony. 

2. Comment upon the speeches of Antonio, 80-109, as a 
study in old age. What effect have they upon Leonato ? 



MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING 103 

3. Does Claudio's manner toward Benedick in 111^. show 
that he has no quahns of conscience regarding his treat- 
ment of Hero ? 

4. Paraphrase 207-208a. What is Don Pedro's thought 
in 208b-209 ? How does this speech serve as tran- 
sition and preparation ? 

5. With I. 300, compare I, 2, 1-2, and explain. 

6. Comment upon 302b-304a. But when has Hero been 
guilty of precisely the same contemptible levity ? Take 
the hero's final measure from "poor Claudio" in 
1. 305. 

7. How does the bait held out here resemble that which 
lured Claudio in I, 1, 296-297 ? Does Shakespeare even 
make Leonato guilty of a lie in regard to Antonio's 
children in order to make it clear that Claudio values 
not the girl but her wealth ? Compare I, 2, 1-2. 

8. Give more than one explanation of the change in 
Borachio since his last appearance. Does it seem likely 
that Margaret would have been ignorant of the grounds 
of the accusation against Hero and therefore unable to 
clear her character ? How is this difficulty managed ? 
Note that Margaret does not appear in Act IV and that 
in V, 2, she seems ignorant of details. 

9. Before taking leave of the immortal Dogberry and his 
crew, make an estimate of their place in the mechanics 
of the play and of what they have done to hold the 
tragic plot down to the comic level. 

V,2. 
1. Does Margaret's levity seem in keeping with her mis- 
tress's recent experience ? Is it intended to indicate 
that she did not know of that experience and thereby 
to explain why she failed to exculpate Hero ? Compare 
V, 4, 4-7. Or is Shakespeare careless of these minor 
details, knowing that they are of little consequence in 
rapid stage action, never dreaming that his text would 
ever be examined minutely ? Is he not chiefly concerned 
in bringing his play to a swift conclusion in a tone of 
light-hearted banter ? 



104 MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING 

2. Comment upon Benedick's singing. Compare II, 3, 
60-63, and also III, 2, 60-62. 

3. What is accomplished in this scene ? 

V,3. 

1. On what day and at what hour does this scene take 
place ? Compare V, 1, 295, and see 24-27. What is the 
symbolic significance of this ? Note that it is a device 
not often employed by Shakespeare. It is more in the 
manner of Maeterlinck. 

2. Compare this scene, for theatrical effect, with IV, 1. 
Both scenes are dominated by the sentimental egoist, 
Claudio. How do 32-33 intensify this effect, showing 
that he has enjoyed the spectacle of his own " woe " ? 

V, 4. 

1. What is the cause of Benedick's " February face " ? 
Compare 25-27. 

2. Is Benedick like most jesters in disliking a jest turned 
against himself ? Compare II, 1, 246-269 ; II, 3, 
245-252, and 101-113 of the present scene. What evi- 
dence is there that Beatrice is like him in this ? How does 
this common trait afford suspense even in the last scene ? 

3. It has been said that " we should make haste to laugh 
lest we begin to weep." It is probably true that there 
is no comedy which, by logical prolongation, would fail 
to end in tragedy. How does Shakespeare's somewhat 
mechanical truncation of the action of this play illus- 
trate this point and at the same time satisfy our sense 
of poetic justice ? There are clouds of tragedy lurking 
below the horizon, but we are content to " think not on 
them till to-morrow." 

4. Did Shakespeare think, in your opinion, that this play 
should end as it does, or did he force his material, per- 
haps somewhat unwillingly, into a preexisting mould — 
the mould of comedy ? Does your answer apply to all 
the play or to the last act chiefly ? Can you recall other 
plays of his in which you feel the same thing ? Are they 
comedies or tragedies ? 



AS YOU LIKE IT 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. Enumerate the actions or stories of the plot and the 
various groups into which the persons of the drama faU. 
Which of these are principal and which subordinate ? 
With what incident does the main action originate ? 
With what incidents does it culminate ? 

2. What stories or episodes might have been eliminated 
without loss to the play ? 

3. Cite as many evidences as possible of haste or careless- 
ness on the poet's part — evidences that he is playing 
with his characters. Note especially Act Y. Is the char- 
acter of Touchstone consistent with itself throughout ? 

4. What characters seem to be of little dramatic value — 
mere " walking gentlemen wlio serve to fill up a world " ? 
What characters are treated with greatest care and in- 
sight ? What characters are treated with manifest sym- 
pathy and delight ? What characters, necessary to the 
machinery of the play, are blocked in hastily ? 

5. Write a carefully considered estimate of Jaques. Why 
does he do nothing ? Is he sincere ? Does he at all re- 
semble Touchstone ? What do you know or infer as to 
his past ? How and why did he fall into his present 
company ? Compare V, 4, 190-191. Compare him with 
Hamlet. Does any one like him ? Is any one indifferent 
towards him ? Compare him with any of the other char- 
acters for reality and " convincing " quality. Can you 
explain Shakespeare's obvious interest in him ? 

6. What parts of the action are improbable ? What parts 
are clearly impossible ? To what degree do these con- 
siderations mar the effect of the play ? Have they the 
same effect as the improbabilities and impossibilities 
that compose the whole tissue of A Midsummer Night's 
Dream ? 



106 AS YOU LIKE IT 

7. How many instances do you find in this play of love at 
first sight ? How does the use of this device economize 
time and incident ? Since love at first sight is itself an 
improbability, would you consider these several in- 
stances of it, occurring at one time and place, as one 
of the play's most staggering impossibilities ? 

8. The defects of the play have been only vaguely sug- 
gested in the foregoing questions. It is not well 
planned, it is weak in action, thin in portraiture, un- 
equal in interest, and shows little of the poet's stern 
power of precise and logical thought. Yet it remains 
one of the most perennially fresh and pleasing plays in 
the world. Why ? 



DETAILED QUESTIONS 

1,1. 

1. What exposition in this scene ? Is it easily and natu- 
rally introduced ? Especially in 1-27 ? Does Oliver 
hear for the first time the " old news " mentioned in 
103-109 ? Then why recount it here ? 

2. What is the value of the reference to " Robin Hood of 
England " ? Compare Hamlet, V, 1, 161-162. 

3. What are we to understand from the fact that Oliver 
expects Charles, as shown in 94-95 and 128-131 ? 
Does this show that the plot has been laid already ? 
How does this device accelerate the action ? Compare 
Act I of King Lear, where it is clear that the distri- 
bution of lands has already been made. 

4. Explain the tempered treatment of the villainy of Oli- 
ver and Charles. How and why would it have been 
differently treated if this were a tragedy ? Compare 
Macbeth, III, 1, 75 ff., Hamlet, IV, 7, h^ ff., and The 
Tempest, II, 1, 205 jf. 

5. Do you find 169-180 natural and convincing? What 
is the dramatic purpose of the passage? Compare 
the first speech of Richard III in the play of that 



AS YOU LIKE IT 107 

1,2. 

1. Why is the report of Charles's earlier bouts given 
here? 

Show that the awkward device of shifting the wres- 
tling ground was forced upon the poet if he wished to 
present the results of the earlier bouts. 

2. How is Rosalind distinguished from Celia in this 
scene? Comment closely upon 284-287. Compare 
I, 3, 117. 

3. Why are both Orlando and Rosalind in just the mood 
for love at first sight ? 

4. What exposition in this scene ? 

1,3. 

1. What is the purpose of 1-40 ? Do you think Rosa- 
lind's manner entirely pleasing here ? 

2. What preparation has been made for the banishment 
of Rosalind ? 

3. Is Duke Frederick's treatment of Rosalind adequately 
explained ? Compare I, 2, 236-242. 

4. Show that in 71-86 there is, at one and the same time, 
characterization of each of the three persons present, 
and exposition. 

5. With lllb-124 compare Merchant of Venice, III, 4, 
60-78. 

6. What incongruity, as to time, between 1. 73 and I, 1, 
100-125 ? 

II, 1. 

1. How does this scene contrast in tone with the scene 
preceding and the one following ? What is its tone ? 
What is its importance for the play ? 
*2. How were the first three scenes of this act staged at 
the Globe Theater ? 

11,3. 

1. Paraphrase and discuss 10-11. 

2. How does the poet's treatment of Oliver resemble that 



108 AS YOU LIKE IT 

of Duke Frederick ? Did he care greatly about this ? 
Why? 
3. What elements go to make the great charm of this 



II, 4. 

1. Why are Corin and Silvius introduced here ? What is 
the function of the clown ? 

2. Discuss this scene as a varied and many-sided treat- 
ment of the theme of love. 

3. How is the tone and temper of II, 1, recalled here ? 
By the end of this scene we have definitely entered the 
land of illusion. The spirit of the forest dominates the 
rest of the play. Outline the steps by which the transi- 
tion has been made from the outer world of reality to 
this world of dream. 

II, 5. 

1. What action or " business " accompanies 60-61 ? 

2. How does this scene advance characterization ? Has it 
any other purpose ? What is its relation to scene 7 ? 
Note 32b-33 and 64. 

11,6. 

1. How were scenes 5, 6, and 7 staged in Shakespeare's 
theater ? Note that the banquet is prepared at the end 
of scene 5 and that it must appear again in scene 7, but 
not in scene 6. 

11,7. 

1. What two actions are connected by Jaques's meeting 
with the fool ? Explain, as far as possible, his expres- 
sions of delight in the fool. Are they wholly sincere ? 
Does he realize his resemblance to the fool ? 

2. Read over 12-34 many times, until you have mastered 
every turn of thought and inflection of voice. Note 
especially the beautifully ductile rhythm. What mood 
in the speaker does this rhythm seem to you to indicate ? 

3. What governs Orlando's choice of items in 114-117 ? 



AS YOU LIKE IT 109 

Why does the duke repeat this part of Orlando's speech 
almost verbatim ? 

4. Explain the popularity of 139b-166. What can be said 
against it ? What do you infer as to the character and 
previous experience of the speaker ? Did' Shakespeare 
admire the speaker ? 

5. Is this famous sj^eech dramatic ? Is it an integral part 
of the play and of the present situation, or is it an ex- 
crescence ? 

6. Would a speech of this length, having no relation to the 
action and merely amplifying a chance remark by an- 
other speaker, be tolerated on the modern stage ? As a 
matter of fact, it goes very lamely to-day because it is 
addressed to the group on the stage. In Shakespeare's 
theater it was recited to the audience. Point out other 
similar speeches in the scene. Who speaks them ? 

7. What is the fitness of the song for the situation ? 

8. What instance of dramatic economy do you find at the 
end of the scene ? 

Ill, 1. 

1. What is the irony in Duke Frederick's treatment of 
Oliver ? What is the irony in Oliver's situation ? 

2. How does this scene advance the action ? 

Ill, 2. 

1. How do 1-19 differ in form from a Shakespearean son- 
net ? Why was the speech written in rhymed verse ? 

2. Where does Orlando suppose Rosalind to be ? 

3. Show that there is, after all, much sound sense in 13- 
23. Compare carefully II, 1, 1-18. What is intended 
in this contrast ? 

4. What purpose is served in the comparison of court and 
country ? In what way does Touchstone rather re- 
motely resemble Jaques in this passage ? 

5. With " palm-tree " in 1. 186, compare 377-380. With 
II, 1, 21-25, compare IV, 3, 115. Comment upon the 
flora and fauna of the wood. How does it harmonize 
with the spirit of the play ? Of course this feature was 



110 AS YOU LIKE IT 

derived from Shakespeare's source, but do you think it 
was retained through carelessness or by design ? 

6. The actual scene of the play is foreign. Present all the 
evidence tending to show that Shakespeare wished his 
audience to think of England chiefly, in these forest 
scenes. What popular English hero, familiar in ballad 
and story, would be called to mind during these scenes ? 
Where is the Forest of Arden ? Where is the Forest of 
Ardennes ? Had Shakespeare any reasons, connected 
with his parentage, for being particularly interested in 
the former? 

7. Did the poet intend that either of the antagonists should 
be clearly victorious in the contest of 268-311 ? Why ? 
Comment upon 293-299. 

8. Guess Rosalind's purpose in 1. 267 in the light of what 
she does in 312-315. Why did she wish to get Celia 
out of the way ? Note her comparative boldness. Com- 
pare I, 2, 257-260, and 264-267. 

9. Comment upon Rosalind's attempt at wit in 331-351. 
Why was it probably intended to fall rather flat ? Why 
are 331-335 slightly off the part that she is playing ? 

10. Comment upon the delightful humor of 369— 377a. 

11. Shakespeare is very fond of the sort of dramatic irony 
illustrated in 406-410. In V, 4, it runs riot. Do you 
think it very effective ? Give reasons why it would be 
more successful on the stage than in reading. What is 
the source of one's pleasure in such stock devices ? 

12. How does Rosalind strengthen her incognito in 4:27 -4:4:5? 

13. What is the central improbability in this whole scene 
between the lovers ? 

14. Why does not Rosalind reveal herself at once to Or- 
lando? Because she delights in the game she is play- 
ing, or because in Shakespeare's time audiences de- 
manded full five acts for their money ? 

Ill, 3. 
1. Does it seem fitting that Touchstone should liken him- 
self to Ovid, and especially that he should make the 
learned pun upon " capricious " ? 



AS YOU LIKE IT 111 

2. Is it possible that in 12-17 Rliakespeare is wresting the 
words out of Touchstone's mouth and is really writing, 
with a bitter smile, about certain Stratford memories of 
his own? 

3. At what other point in this scene does Touchstone seem 
inconsistent with his character as presented earlier in 
the play ? Note, for example, his moral frivolity in 
25-41 and his " euphuism," which, indeed, he might 
have learned at court, in 61-66. 

Ill, 4. 

1. What contrast is there between the disguise and the 
emotions of Rosalind ? What effect was this contrast 
intended to make ? What does Celia try to do here ? 

2. Comment uj^on 37-42. 

3. What does the speaker intend in 1. 62 ? How is this in 
character and in harmony with the speaker's present 
situation ? 

III, 5. 

1. What dramatic irony in this scene ? 

2. Do you think it natural that Phebe, who has been as 
adamant to Corin's praises, should soften beneath the 
scorn and reviling of Rosalind ? How does Rosalind 
nearly betray her sex in 34-63 ? 

3. With the situation here compare Tivelfth Nighty III, 
1, 104^. Why should such a situation be especially 
effective on Shakespeare's stage ? 

4. Discuss tlie propriety and fitness to time, place, and 
speaker of the reference to Marlowe, 81-82. 

5. With 1. 130, compare sonnets 127, 130, 131 and Loves 
Labour 's Lost, IV, 3, 252-253. 

IV, 1. 

1. Note that neither Rosalind nor Orlando cares for 
Jaques's company but that he seems to desire theirs. 
Yet he poses as a solitary. 
*2. What evidence do you find in 1-38 that Jaques' " mel- 
ancholy " which he attributes to the " sundry contem- 



112 AS YOU LIKE IT 

plation of liis travels," was a fashionable affectation of 
the time of Elizabeth ? See Roger Aschani's The Schole- 
master. 

3. Why is it appropriate that Orlando should speak in 
blank verse, in 1. 30? Show that Jaques' comment 
upon this has the effect of strengthening the stage 
illusion. 

4. Explain Celia's motive in 66-67. Is she afraid that 
Rosalind has been too daring ? Or should we here recall 
I, 3, 114-115a? 

*h. In what spirit is classical antiquity treated in 94-108 ? 
Compare the spirit of Troilus and Cressida, probably 
written within a year of this play, on the same material.^ 
6. Compare this speech with III, 5, 8-27. 

IV, 3. 

1. Comment fully upon the conversion of Oliver. Is the 
cause of this conversion adequate ? 

2. With 164 165 compare V, 2, 21 and 31. Comment. 

3. What is the source of the beautiful pathos in 166- 
169? * 

1. To whom does Audrey refer in " old gentleman," 1. 4 ? 
Why? 

2. How does Touchstone resemble Jaques in 11-14 ? 

3. What is Touchstone's purpose in 33-56 ? Do you see 
any sense or connection of ideas in 33-40 ? 

V, 2. 

1. Does Rosalind, in 2)2 ff., interpret Orlando's meaning 
in 1. 31, correctly ? Is this deliberate ? In what ways 
might these lines be acted ? 

2. With llb-14 compare III, 1, 16-18. Comment. 

3. Does the interpretation that Orlando recognizes Rosa- 
lind through her disguise spoil the rest of the play for 
you ? Why ? What evidence is in favor of this inter- 
pretation ? May we even suppose that Rosalind knows 
he recognizes her and yet take an even greater pleas- 



AS YOU LIKE IT 113 

ure in the closing scenes ? Does the poet force any of 
these interpretations ? Why ? 
4. What is the dramatic value of 114-131 ? 

V,3. 

1. What is the function of this scene ? 

2. In how many different ways is the beautiful song in 
keeping with the place, the occasion, and the spirit of 
the play ? 

V,4. 

1. Does the poet intend to exhibit an example of woman's 
logic in 11-14 ? What is wrong here ? 

2. What is the dramatic value of 1-25 ? Compare V, 2, 
114-131. 

3. What effect is intended in 26-29 ? 

4. Comment upon the humor of 61-64 and 71b-72a. 
Where has this attitude of Touchstone toward Audrey 
been noted before ? Does he marry her in good faith ? 
Note 57-59 and cite earlier passages to the same 
effect. 

5. Is there any dramatic value in 71-109 ? That is, does 
it advance the action or portray character ? Is it con- 
sistent with Touchstone's character and social position? 
Is it another hit at fashionable affectations? Note 
especially 94-95. 

6. What satire do you find in 71-109 ? Kindly or cynical ? 
Compare, in this respect, the satire in Jaques' famous 
monologue, II, 7, 139-166. 

7. Note that the present passage deals with court and city 
life. Compare III, 2, 12-23, and comment. 

8. Criticize and discuss the necessity of Duke Frederick's 
astonishingly swift and complete conversion. Compare 
that of Oliver. Show that these things are in harmony 
with the general tone of the comedy and with its 
title. 

9. What reason can you give for the supposition that Adam 
took the part of Hymen ? 

10. Comment upon the lines spoken by Jaques. 



114 AS YOU LIKE IT 

Epilogue 
1. Note the bewildering confusion in the matter of sex. 
Here we have a boy speaking who has been acting the 
part of a girl disguised in man's clothing. In the first 
line he tells us that "It is not the fashion to see the 
lady the epilogue," and later he says "If I were a 
woman " ! 



TWELFTH NIGHT 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. Enumerate the actions of the play. Into what groups 
do the characters fall ? Which of these are principal 
and which subordinate? By what events and char- 
acters are these actions and groups interconnected? 
Whom do you consider the leading characters — 

those that control and shape the action ? 

2. Enumerate the love stories presented. Have they any 
common characteristic? What persons among the 
chief characters are not in love ? 

3. What improbabilities do you find in the action ? Do 
any of the characters seem overdrawn ? 

4. What length of time is supposed to elapse during the 
play ? How many days are actually shown ? Is there 
anything surprising in V, I, 102 ? Explain. 

*5. What situations, incidents, and characters recall simi- 
lar things in the poet's earlier comedies ? A full dis- 
cussion of this interesting and important topic requires 
a knowledge of all Shakespeare's comedies down to 
and including As You Like It, but especially of his 
first three. His most obvious limitation, a compara- 
tive poverty of invention, may be illustrated admir- 
ably by showing how he works over in the present 
play, his masterpiece in comedy, the materials of his 
apprenticeship. 

6. More attention is paid to music in this play than in 
any other by Shakespeare. Gather the references to 
it. Discuss the part played by the songs in producing 
the total effect of the comedy. 

7. Hazlitt said of this play : " It is perhaps too good- 
natured for comedy." Does the poet treat any of the 
characters in a purely satiric way ? Or is his manner 



116 TWELFTH NIGHT 

kindly and sympathetic throughout? What charac- 
ters seem to lend themselves to satiric treatment? 
Was Dr. Johnson right in saying that Sir Andrew 
is " not the proper prey of a satirist " ? 

8. To what characters do you feel superior ? With what 
characters have you a feeling of fellowship ? 

9. Write a brief study of Malvolio. What is meant by 
calling him a Puritan ? (Of course it is clear that the 
Puritan spirit is independent of time and place. It 
may be found in ancient Egypt as well as in seven- 
teenth-century London and in Illyria as well as in 
New England.) 

10. Why do all the other characters dislike Malvolio and 
make a butt of him ? Why is he legitimate prey for 
comedy ? George Meredith's famous essay " On the 
Uses of the Comic Spirit " is helpful here. Show that 
in his treatment of Malvolio Shakespeare has been 
very moderate and charitable. The man was nearly 
everything that the poet disliked. Throughout his 
life as a dramatist Shakespeare and his friends of the 
theaters were in more or less open conflict with men 
of this type of mind — men who thought that because 
they were virtuous there should be no more cakes and 
ale. The type is deathless. 

11. Why is the part of Malvolio considered the leading 
male role in the play by modern actors ? 

'^12. Do you think this play is, on the whole, nearer the 
height of Shakespeare's accomplishment in comedy 
than Much Ado, Merchant of Venice, As You Like 
It ? State reasons in each case. Show that each of 
these is superior to the present play in some particu- 
lars. (For sheer intellectual power, Troilus and 
Cressida may be considered the greatest of the com- 
edies.) But Twelfth Night is rounded, globed, com- 
plete. It exhibits all the poet's comic powers in per- 
fect balance and harmony. It is the master's show 
piece. 



TWELFTH NIGHT 117 

DETAILED QUESTIONS 

1,1. 

1. Explain or comment upon the following words in 1-15 : 
" appetite," " fall," " sound," " quick," " that" in 1. 10, 
^'capacity," "validity," "pitch," "fancy," "high fan- 
tastical." 

2. Paraphrase 1-15. 

3. Estimate the character of the Duke and his present 
state of mind from these introductory lines alone. 
Compare 40-41. 

4. What exposition is there in this scene ? 

I, 2. 

1. What is the dramatic value of the captain's narrative 
in 8-17 ? 

2. Explain " those poor numher," 1. 10. This is a good 
illustration of the elasticity of the English language in 
Shakespeare's time. 

3. Comment upon 1. 29. Does it show an unpleasant 
boldness ? 

4. Place together 11. 29, 34, 41b, 45, 55b, and outline the 
stages of Viola's thought. Is it fairly clear that the 
whole plan of her future action is here in embryo ? Is 
she " setting her cap " for the Duke ? 

5. What exposition do you find in this scene ? 

1,3. 

1. What is the condition of Sir Toby ? Point out several 
passages in 1-46 that show this. 

2. What preparation in these lines for the later marriage 
of Sir Toby and Maria ? 

3. Does Sir Toby appear to wish to be rid of Sir An- 
drew ? Why has the latter remained hitherto and 
what detains him at the present time ? 

4. What are the relations existing between the two 
knights ? Estimate the character of each as shown in 
this scene alone. 



118 TWELFTH NIGHT 

5. Do you see any special dexterity in stage-craft in 
149-151 ? 

6. Why is this scene in prose ? What does it add in the 
way of exposition ? 

1,4. 

1. What time has elapsed since the action of I, 2 ? 

2. With 13-14 compare Romeo and Juliet, I, 3, 81^., 
Love's Labour '5 Lost, IV, 2, 113, and King John, II, 
1, 485. Comment. 

3. What are we to infer from 1. 16 ? 

4. Why do Viola's speeches change from prose to verse 
after the entrance of the Duke ? 

5. Does Orsino give good and adequate reasons for send- 
ing Viola on the mission to Olivia ? Does it seem the 
rational and natural thing to do ? Does the poet suc- 
ceed here in slurring over a slight improbability which 
is serviceable to his plot ? 

6. How might the abruptness of Viola's " aside " in 41-42 
be softened in acting ? 

7. What does this scene add to our necessary knowledge 
of the characters and the situation ? Is there any new 
development ? 

8. Do you find any dramatic irony in the scene ? 

1,5. 

1. What is Maria's precise feeling and attitude toward the 
clown ? Does this prepare us to feel likewise ? 

2. What is Malvollo's attitude toward Feste ? Should this 
have the same weight with us as that of Maria ? Is 
there characterization of some one beside Feste in Mal- 
vollo's two speeches regarding him? 

3. What is the wisdom and justice of 97-104 ? 

4. What occasions Olivia's change of mind in 1. 172 ? 
What Is the Inference as to her character ? 

5. Is Viola really in doubt as to the identity of Olivia in 
\11 ff. ? What, then, is her object in asking ? 

6. What words of Viola's justify Olivia's question in 1. 194 ? 

7. Explain in detail 217-220. 



TWELFTH NIGHT 119 

8. By what words in the following twelve lines is the idea 
started in "divinity," 1. 233, carried out? 

9. Explain 1. 254. Is it the sarcasm of jealousy or is it 
fully explained in Olivia's previous speech ? 

10. Comuient fully upon the spirit in which 256-261 are 
spoken. Why in verse ? With 1. 261 compare sonnet 1. 

11. Is the curse uttered in 1. 305 carried out ? Why ? Com- 
pare those in Richard III or in King Lear. 

12. Reading hack through the scene, show in detail what 
has been Olivia's attitude toward Viola from the first 
moment she saw her. 

13. How many love stories are we following at this point in 
the play ? Characterize each in a word. 

14. How is the action advanced in this scene ? 

II, 1. 

1. Paraphrase 11-17. 

2. What is the meaning of " estimable wonder " in 1. 29 ? 

3. Is Antonio's affection for Sebastian somewhat over- 
drawn ? Would it have seemed less so to an Elizabe- 
than audience than to us ? What purpose does it serve 
later ? 

4. Compare ll-12a with 43b-44. 

11,2. 

1. Why does Olivia send the ring after Viola ? 

2. Paraphrase 23b-24. 

3. Paraphrase and explain 30-31. 

4. What dramatic purpose is served by 18-42 ? 

II, 3. 

1. Comment upon Sir Andrew's repeated use of the word 
" fool " and " fooling " in 15^. Explain the uninten- 
tional pun in 1. 89. 
*2. Compare 158-166, both as to style and matter, with 
the " character writing " of the seventeenth century, 
well represented in Earle's Microcosmographie and 
Samuel Butler's Characters. Compare Troilus and 
Cressida 1, 2, 20-31. Does Shakespeare seem to have 



120 TWELFTH NIGHT 

been well acquainted with the technic of the " char- 
acter " ? Were any of the character books in existence 
as early as this play ? See Ben Jonson's Every Man 
in His Humour in this connection. 
3. What is gained by outlining the plot against Malvolio 
before it is put into action ? 

11,4. 

1. Was not Viola engaged in the Duke's service as a 
singer ? Compare I, 2, 55-59. Does the song suit Viola 
better than it does the clown ? Is it evident from the 
first lines of the scene that the Duke expected Viola 
to sing the song ? Should the Duke have remembered 
that it was not Viola but Feste who sang it on the pre- 
vious evening ? Is it natural that Feste should frequent 
the Duke's palace ? Do 8-14 seem like patchwork ? 
Note that they are in prose. What inference do you 
draw from all this ? May it be that the actor now play- 
ing the part of Feste originally impersonated Viola and 
that when he grew up some boy who could not sing 
was given the part of Viola ? Compare I, 4, 32b-34. 

2. With 33-36a compare 96-106a. Is this due to negli- 
gence on the poet's part or is it characterization ? Does 
it illustrate 75-77 ? 

3. Viola's covert confession of her love, tremblingly poised 
between woman's reticence and man's candor, is the 
outstanding purpurea panna of the plav. Memorize 
113b-118. 

4. Explain 1. 124b. 

5. What two earlier scenes are recalled by the present 
one ? How does the Duke's manner here closely resem- 
ble that shown in an earlier scene ? 

11,5. 

*1. What special significance do you find in Malvolio's dis- 
like of bear-baiting ? Compare II, 3, 151. If possible, 
see Stubbs' Anatomy of Abuse upon this sport. 
2. How do the asides of the eavesdroppers create suspense 
in 27-195 ? 



TWELFTH NIGHT 121 

3. With 85-90 compare Love's Labour 's Lost, I, 1, 250- 
260 and Much Ado, IV, 2, 76-90. 

4. How much does Fabian add to the play either here or 
elsewhere ? Note that the number of actors required 
for this play is relatively small and give a possible ex- 
planation of the inclusion of the part. 

Ill, 1. 

1. Is there any special significance in Feste's statement 
that he lives by the church ? Compare IV, 2, 1-10. 

2. How does 1. 102 explain 1. 78 ? 

*3. Explain 108-110. Compare Ben Jonson's assault upon 
the word " servant " in The Silent Woman. 

4. Point out numerous instances in this scene of high-flown 
diction used for its own sake, apparently, but yet 
coupled with ridicule of it. Has the colloquy of Viola 
and the clown any purpose other than that of intro- 
ducing this material ? This is Shakespeare's fairly 
constant attitude toward speech-embroidery : he sees 
its futility and aesthetic wrongness but he never quite 
learns to leave it alone. Perhaps, after all, we should 
be glad of that. 

5. Do you find anything in this scene besides frivolous 
word-play and rather laborious trifling ? Note that its 
action repeats that of an earlier scene. Few serious 
modern dramatists would dare to venture a scene of 
such mere padding. What saved it for its Elizabethan 
audience ? 

6. Why is Olivia made to declare her love ? How is the 
unpleasantness of this somewhat softened ? 

Ill, 2. 

1. Comment upon the splendid audacity and vigor of ex- 
pression in 19-67. These lines have no languishing 
Victorian prettiness but they contain poetry of a high 
order — masculine, downright, dynamic. What sen- 
tences seem especially worthy of note ? 
*2. Make a list of the second person pronouns in 1-12, noting 
by whom they are used and to whom they are addressed. 



122 TWELFTH NIGHT 

See Abbott's Shakespearean Grammar, articles 232- 
235. Give examples of the same phenomenon in other 
languages. What is the social status of Fabian ? 

Ill, 3. 

1. Is this scene valuable in and for itself or for its dra- 
matic function alone ? What scenes are linked by it ? 
Have we been in danger of forgetting Sebastian ? 

2. Compare Antonio's generosity here with his effusive 
affection earlier. Does it seem any more natural than 
the other ? 

Ill, 4. 

1. What is the value of 5-6 "^ 

2. Where does Malvolio show a becoming modesty in 71- 

92 ? Do you think the poet shows extraordinary insight 
in the comment made by Malvolio upon Olivia's use of 
the word " fellow " ? 

3. Explain the frequent references to hell and devils in 

93 # 

4. With 1. 137 compare III, 1, 65-66. 

5. Comment upon the dramatic effect secured by 140-141. 
Compare Julius Ccesar, II, 1, 226-227, I, 2, 258-262, 
and III, 1, 111-116. 

6. Viola's disguise wears very thin in 238 j^. Note espe- 
cially 331-333. Has she enough at stake to warrant 
her in retaining it ? How much would she gain and 
lose in declaring her sex at the present juncture ? But 
the poet has two acts yet to write. 

7. Is it easily believable that Antonio, who has seen Sebas- 
tian within the day, should take Viola for her brother ? 
Where has the poet tried to prepare for this ? Where, 
later, does he try to bolster it up ? What very early 
Shakespearean comedy does the device recall ? Would 
the awkwardness of the device be lessened or increased 
on the stage ? 

8. Comment upon " imagination," 1. 409. Does it not seem 
that Viola has had all the evidence she could desire ? 
Why does the poet keep her in suspense .'' 



TWELFTH NIGHT 123 

9. "What leads Sir Toby to make the remark in 411-413 ? 

Note that the preceding speeches are in rhymed verse. 

10. Why should Viola have imitated her brother ? There 

is a delicate and easily overlooked touch of pathos in 

414-418a. 

IV, 1. 

1. What very effective use is made here of the confusion 
between Sebastian and Viola ? 

2. Why is this second impending duel stopped ? 

3. Why does Olivia give such a lame excuse for her invi- 
tation in 58b-61a ? 

4. Why is it effective to make Sebastian yield so readily 
to her invitation ? 

IV, 2. 

1. What is the stage setting of this scene ? Compare III, 
4, 148. 

2. Where does the clown stand in talking with Malvolio ? 
Why does not Malvolio overhear the comments of Sir 
Toby and Maria ? 

3. If what Maria says in 69-70 is true, what dramatic 
value has Feste's disguise ? 

4. Explain 106-109. 

5. What is your feeling toward Malvolio at the end of 
this scene ? 

6. How does the song fit the occasion ? 

IV, 3. 

1. Explain the boldness and the apparent suddenness of 
Olivia's demand in 24-28, in the light of her previous 
experience. 

2. How does this demand of hers assist the poet in the 
complications yet to follow ? 

3. Why does Sebastian accept the situation so unques- 
tioningly ? 

v,i. 

1. Is there any significance in the fact that Feste appears 
at the opening of each of the last three acts ? 



124 TWELFTH NIGHT 

2. Paraphrase 54-62. 

3. Show that Viola cannot be entirely sincere in 69-71 and 
95. Compare III, 4, 409-410. What hinders her from 
telling what she so strongly suspects ? Note carefully 
the mood indicated in 256 ff. Do you like her less 
or more for this ? 

4. Why is Olivia's use of the name " Csesario " in 1, 109 
surprising and improbable ? When has she had oppor- 
tunity to learn her lover's real name, and thereby to 
untangle the whole complication before the present 
scene begins ? 

5. Comment fully upon 1. 102. How does it fit into the 
time scheme you have made for the play ? 

6. Note the Duke's erudition in things amatory shown in 
120-123. Where have we seen this trait in him before ? 

7. Do you think 123-141 present a strong dramatic situ- 
ation, without regard to the improbabilities upon which 
it is based ? 

8. Does it seem natural that Antonio should stand so 
long without speaking or being spoken to ? Was not 
the Duke's concern with him sufficiently urgent to 
warrant instant attention ? Does the poet allow us to 
forget Antonio so as not to mar the joyous effect of 
the comedy's final scene ? What events finally crowd 
Antonio out of our minds altogether ? What is done 
with his case ? 

9. With 252-255 compare II, 1, 19-20. 

10. How is the Malvolio action dexterously drawn back to 
the center of the stage ? 

11. Discuss the tone of Malvolio's letter, 310 jf. 

12. Does Fabian tell the exact truth in 363 /.? Why? 

13. When did the marriage mentioned in 1. 372 occur? 
Why was it kept secret from Olivia? Has it been 
adequately prepared for ? What evidence is there that 
Sir Toby married Maria because he was so hugely 
pleased with her plot against Malvolio ? 

14. Is it well to have the Malvolio action crowd out that 
of Viola at the end of the play ? How might this effect 
be softened in action ? 



TWELFTH NIGHT 125 

15. What unexpected element do you find in the character 
of Malvolio in 338-352 ? 

16. What is the significance of the exit speech of Mal- 
volio ? Is it in the key of comedy ? Considering that 
it is his last speech in the play, does it appear that 
Malvolio has profited by his lesson? 

17. What evidences of haste do you find in this closing 
scene ? Is there any action that is not completed ? Is 
there any action that is not completed gracefully ? 



HAMLET 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. How many stories or separate lines of interest do you 
find ? In most of Shakespeare's plays the action re- 
volves upon several pivots — there are several foci o£ 
interest. How and why does this play differ ? Show 
in some detail how every bit of action is related to one 
central figure — that of the Lord Hamlet. Show that 
every other character is faced toward him and that 
every problem in the play is colored by his character 
and attitude. 

2. What extraneous or unnecessary material do you find ? 
Does it seem likely that Shakespeare added to the 
play from time to time after its completion? What 
technical faults do you discover in the construction ? 

3. Present evidence in favor of the view that the first 
three scenes of Act IV should be considered the last 
three scenes of Act III. Accepting this arrangement, 
outline briefly the material of each act. 

4. Compare the play, as to length and construction, with 
Macbeth. Explain differences. 

5. Which of the characters seem unmistakably English? 
How much is done to give a Danish flavor to charac- 
ters and setting ? Does the poet seem greatly concerned 
about this matter of " local color " ? Compare his prac- 
tice in other plays. Which of the characters seem 
Elizabethan ? Is Hamlet or Laertes closer to the 
Elizabethan ideal ? 

6. Collect all evidence bearing upon the question of 
Hamlet's sanity. If you conclude that his madness 
was real — basing your opinion upon the text alone 
without regard to any critical comment — be prepared 
to say just what form his madness took and how long 



HAMLET 127 

it endured. If you conclude that his madness was as- 
sumed, be prepared to explain his manner, words, and 
actions on all occasions upon some tenable hypothesis. 
Do not think, as so many superficial readers and crit- 
ics have done, that the whole question is settled by 
Hamlet's words in I, 5, 168 ff., or by his assertions 
that he is sane. May this whole question, which has 
addled many weaker brains than Hamlet's, be, after 
all, largely a matter of definition? Show that it is 
dramatically and aesthetically necessary that Hamlet 
should be sane and normal at least in large part. Is a 
madman conceivable as protagonist of a real tragedy ? 

7. Collect all the evidence tending to show that Hamlet 
was capable of prompt, decisive action. Collect all evi- 
dence tending to show that he was so absorbed by the 
inner world of contemplation that he lost touch with 
and control of the outer world, consuming all his 
energy in thought. On which side does the evidence 
preponderate ? But is it fairly strong and convincing 
on the other side also ? Try to harmonize the two 
views. 

8. Enumerate the occasions on which Hamlet determines 
upon instant action. What obstacle, real or imagined, 
prevents him in each instance ? 

9. Show the contrast, along many lines, between Hamlet 
and his environment. What are some of the more im- 
portant character contrasts in the play ? 

10. Give as many illustrations as possible of the fact that 
Hamlet's mind dwells habitually upon the universal 
aspects of things and is not at its best in dealing with 
the individual and particular fact. Show that he real- 
izes this weakness. Does this lack of mental balance 
fully explain his failure ? 

11. What weight should be given to the events preceding 
the action of the play — the death of Hamlet's father 
and the marriage of his mother — in explaining Ham- 
let's unfitness for action ? In other words, do you agree 
with the opinion of A. C Bradley that Hamlet's weak- 
ness is not inherent but only the temporary result of 



128 HAMLET 

what we might call " nervous shock " ? If one accepts 
this view, he solves at once the quandary indicated in 
question 7. But is it characteristic of Shakespeare to 
base his tragic effects upon merely temporary and 
pathological states and conditions of mind? Does he 
not usually ground everything upon the bedrock of en- 
during character and does not the wealth and profun- 
dity of his effects depend largely upon his so doing? 
Professor Bradley's opinion makes Hamlet the victim 
of that blind Fate that rules in Greek tragedy, but 
Shakespeare seems to have remembered at all times 
the truth expressed in the Greek saying : '' Character 
alone is Fate." 

12. Show that each one of the deaths in the play is in some 
way related to Hamlet's weakness and failure. Nowhere 
does the poet render more perfectly than in this play 
the closely woven texture of life. 

13. The Tragedy of Hamlet has held the stage, on the 
whole, better than any other of Shakespeare's plays. 
Its interest and appeal have increased steadily for three 
centuries. Is it somewhat better suited to the modern 
stage than to the Elizabethan ? Why ? In what ways 
does it seem better adapted to the modern mind than 
to the Elizabethan ? What features of the play explain 
its undeniable popularity with the Elizabethan audi- 
ence? Are we of to-day interested primarily in the 
same features ? 

14. Give some reasons for the general belief that this play 
marks the height of Shakespeare's achievement. Do 
you entirely agree with this belief ? Give some reasons 
for ranking it lower, in certain particulars, than King 
Lear, than Macbeth, than Othello. But remember that 
such attempts to grade works of supreme excellence are 
of little value. In this case they serve their purpose 
if they show that while Shakespeare reached ultimate 
perfection nowhere, and, like a true romantic, seems 
scarcely to have sought it, the mountain which he 
climbed had more than one peak. 



HAMLET , 129 



DETAILED QUESTIONS 

1,1. 

1. What common knowledge is there between the four 
men present at the opening of the scene ? How does it 
affect the manner and words of each ? 

2. What is the emotional tone and effect of these opening 
lines ? To what elements is this effect due ? 

3. Show that in these lines the play is at once connected 
with past action. Do they also arouse strong curiosity 
regarding the future ? Can you cite any other play in 
which these two important things are accomplished at 
one and the same time ? 

4. Do 1-69 set the key for the whole play ? Explain. Do 
they, in general, provide what seems to you the best 
possible opening for the play ? 

5. Visualize the scene on the platform, with all the action 
contained in 1-69, and describe in detail. 

6. How does the character of Horatio contrast with those 
of his associates ? Are his associates differentiated in 
any way ? 

7. What dramatic effect is made by the skepticism of 
Horatio ? What evidences are given in this scene of the 
scholarship of Horatio ? In what ways does his charac- 
ter conform to the scholar type ? 

8. Explain 1. 42. Compare Much Ado, II, 1, 264. 

9. Comment upon 1. 85. Is the poet writing solely from 
the point of view of the speaker or has he his Eliza- 
bethan audience also in mind in this line ? Show that 
in other plays and in more important jnatters than the 
present one he often s^grifices realisn^ to immediacy of 
appeal. 

10. Show from this scene that no one has as yet suspected 
that the elder Hamlet met his death by foul play. 

11. What is the meaning and etymology of " extravagant," 
1. 154, and of " jDrobation," 1. 156? Are they used in 
their derived English sense or in the sense they had 
jn the language from which they come ? What does 



130 HAMLET 

their use in this sense indicate in regard to the 
speaker ? 
12. What exposition in this scene ? Is it cleverly introduced, 
so as to seem to spring naturally from the action ? 

1,2. 

1. Enumerate the various ways in which the speaker in 1- 
50 shows hypocrisy, diplomacy, and knowledge of men. 
Does he seem a man of personal and intellectual power ? 
Point out one or two exhibitions of extraordinary 
cleverness in this speech. What single phrases have 
unusual strength and beauty ? With 1. 11 compare 
Winter's Tale, V, 2, 81-82. 

2. How is Hamlet dressed in this scene ? Make sugges- 
tions for the acting of his part. Does he suspect the 
king of the murder of his father ? Is his present mood 
to be explained entirely by his natural sorrow for his 
father ? 

3. What is the etymology of "kind," 1. 65 ? Explain the 
line. 

4. What do we know of the queen from her first words ? 
She utters profound truths as witlessly as a gramo- 
phone. Hamlet, in reply, cramps a world of meaning 
into five words. 

5. Characterize Hamlet's replies to the king and queen. 
What is the double intention of 83b-84 ? 

6. What is the precise nature of the king's attitude toward 
Hamlet ? Why is he unwilling that Hamlet should re- 
turn to Wittenberg ? Why does Hamlet wish to return ? 
What does this .desire indicate regarding his character ? 
Why does he yiejd so readily ? 

7. Comment fully upon the character and mood indicated 
in 129-159. 

8. Read these lines over many times. Be prepared to 
render every nuance and shade of thought and feeling 
by the voice alone. This exercise is more important 
and should take more time than all the other questions 
on the scene together. 

9. Compare the blank yers^ of this the first of Hamlet's 



HAMLET 131 

soliloquies with that of Comedy of Errors, II, 2, 112- 
148. What essential differences do you find ? 

10. How long and how well has Hamlet known Horatio ? 
Compare 161 and 163 with III, 2, 59^. Is there any 
evidence here of the close, long-standing friendship be- 
tween the two which has so long served as a staple 
article in Hamlet criticism ? Where have the two met 
before ? Do they seem congenial ? Or is Hamlet's 
coldness here due to his distraught condition of mind ? 

11. What has led Hamlet to " doubt some foul play " ? 
Why does he suspect this before the others do ? 

12. What exposition in this scene ? Is the greater part of 
the necessary exposition now completed ? 

1,3. 

1. With 7-9 compare sonnet 99. 

2. Comment closely upon the character indicated in 10-44. 
Are these the words of a man truly wise or of one only 
" worldly-wise " ? Is the speaker pure of heart him- 
self ? Has he a belief that his sister is so ? Would he 
think it desirable that she should be so ? What seems 
to be his notion of the normal relations existing between 
men and women ? 

*3. Where has the character of Laertes been formed ? See 
Ascham's The ScholeifYiaster on the general subjects of 
foreign travel and the " Italianate " Englishman. Show 
the relation of the ideas there presented to Shake- 
speare's portrait of Laertes. 

4. Comment closely upon the character shown in 55-81. 
Several phrases and sentences from these lines have 
passed, in the form of proverbs, into our common 
speech, and this means that they must have wisdom of 
some sort. Do they show the large and lordly wisdom 
of the Sermon on the Mount or the grovelling, ignoble 
wisdom of Franklin's Foor Richard's Almanack'? 

5. Illustrate from the present speech the fact that before 
concluding that Shakespeare is expressing his own 
thought in a given maxim or utterance, we should 
always consider the source and the occasion of that 



132 HAMLET 

maxim or utterance. Shakespeare himself seems to 
have had little fondness for maxims and proverbs, but 
he puts them very frequently into the mouths of some 
characters. What kinds of characters, in the plays, are 
specially given to gnomic utterances ? What kinds in 
life ? Young or old ? Educated or illiterate ? 

6. Where and how has the character of Polonius been 
formed ? Is he at the height of his mental power or 
does he show signs of senile decay ? 

7. In what respects do these two companion speeches, 
10-44 and 55-81, resemble each other ? Does this 
seem natural and right ? In what ways is Laertes like 
his father ? How is Ophelia like both of them ? In his 
treatment of this family Shakespeare has given his 
most careful and extended study of the influences of 
heredity and domestic environment. Tliis line of in- 
terest is not obtruded, however. One discovers it only 
after close scrutiny. Acquaintance with it is of great 
importance in determining one's estimate of Ophelia. 

8. Comment fully upon 85-89 and 136. Study all the 
intervening speeches of Ophelia. Granting the sweet 
docility with which she bows to the wills of brother 
and father — breaking her promise to the one almost 
as soon as made, it may be added, in order to obey the 
other — can you show that she has any strength, any 
conviction, any mind of her own ? Shakespeare was 
interested in the question : Is this Ophelia a woman 
from whom a pov/erful but lonely and half-distracted 
man could renew his strength in the time of his great- 
est need ? Is she that, or is she morally and intellec- 
tually nerveless ? Is she something between these ex- 
tremes? 

9. It is clear, at least, that Ophelia is not the splendid, 
regal, large-minded woman who might have been a 
true mate to Hamlet. How, then, do you explain his 
" tenders of affection " to her ? 

10. Try to explain the main features of Ophelia's mind 
'and character by reference to the state of affairs in her 
home. 



HAMLET 133 

11. Is it not natural to suppose that Polonius and Son 
would consider Hamlet a " good match " ? What ob- 
jections to him do they urge in speaking to Ophelia? 
What are their real objections ? What is the impor- 
tance of these objections in the rest of the play ? Com- 
parell, 1, 110#. 

12. Though Polonius, quite fittingly, is the one who tells 
us that " brevity is the soul of wit," he is himself some- 
what tedious. To show this, sum up each of his three 
long speeches in this scene in a single sentence. 

1,4. 

1. What is the value of 8-22 in their application to the 
character and present state of mind of Hamlet ? Does 
he feel in harmony with his environment ? 

2. How do 23-38 apply to the speaker himself? Have 
they any bearing upon the poet's purpose in the entire 
play? 

3. Comment upon the style of 23-38. What does it indi- 
cate regarding the speaker's habit of thought ? 

4. Point out any single lines in 39-57 that seem to you 
particularly powerful and beautiful. Point out two lines 
in which the sound of the words is very delicately ad- 
justed to the sense conveyed. 

5. Visualize and describe the action of 39-85. 

1,5. 

1. Can you see any good reason for marking a change of 
scene at this point ? Is not the action continuous and 
the place almost the same as that of I, 4 ? 

2. Paraphrase " eternal blazon," 1. 21. 

3. What comparison of great imaginative splendor do you 
find in 30-40 ? 

4. Comment upon 1. 40. Has Hamlet voiced his suspicions 
before ? 

5. What three injunctions are laid upon Hamlet by the 
Ghost ? Does Hamlet remember each of them later and 
try to fulfill them all ? 

6. Show, from 92-112, that Hamlet thinks his mother had 



134 HAMLET 

some part in the murder of her first husband. Does he 
accuse her of this later ? 

7. Where has Hamlet learned the habit illustrated in 107- 
110a ? Does the action seem appropriate at this time ? 
How does it illustrate character ? Does Hamlet think, 
like many another student, that he has accomplished 
something definite when he has " set it down " in his 
tables ? 

8. Explain the triviality of Hamlet's remarks in 116-164. 
Some critics think this is only a survival of low comedy 
material from the earlier Hamlet play, but even if it is, 
Shakespeare would scarcely have left it here unless he 
saw that it had dramatic value and suited his purposes. 

9. What bearing have IQdff. upon later events and your 
interpretation of them ? Why should Hamlet think, so 
early as this, to give warning to his friends that he may 
act strangely ? Has he a plan already in mind ? If we 
suppose that he has, does not this argue an almost su- 
pernatural quickness of thought ? Is it conceivable that 
he is already devising means by which he may delay 
action ? Do you think the words " antic disposition " 
must necessarily refer to simulated madness ? 

10. What advance in action is made in this scene ? Is all 
the necessary exposition now before us ? Are we now 
ready for the main action of tlie play ? What is the 
usual function of the first act in Shakespeare's trage- 
dies? 

11. What length of time elapses during the first act ? 

11,1. 

1. We have seen that neither Polonius nor Laertes trusts 
Ophelia. What more do we learn in this connection in 
1-73 ? For what later action does this conference be- 
tween Polonius and Reynaldo prepare the way ? 

2. How long after the action of I, 4, does Hamlet's visit to 
Ophelia occur ? Has it any connection with any occur- 
rences of that scene ? Why does he go to see her ? 
Can you explain the actions of Hamlet which Ophelia 
reports ? 



HAMLET 135 

3. What feature of Hamlet's visit seems to have disturbed 
Ophelia most deeply, judging from 77-84 ? Compare 
III, 1, 161. Compare also As You Like It, III, 2, 398- 
401. 

4. What construction does Polonius put upon Hamlet's 
action ? Mark the willingness of Ophelia to agree with 
him. What is the importance of this opinion of his in 
the later action ? 

11,2. 

1. What earlier passage in the play is recalled by 
1-39 ? 

2. How many instances have we seen thus far in the play 
of weaker natures dominated and controlled for good 
or ill by stronger ones ? 

3. What light is thrown by 1. 50 upon 1-39 ? Comment 
upon 56-57. 

4. What part is played by Fortinbras and his soldiery in 
the action of the drama ? Is it sufficient to justify the 
frequent mention of them ? 

5. How much trust does the king place in Polonius's dec- 
laration that Hamlet is mad with love of Ophelia ? 
Why ? 

6. How many of the persons of the drama are completely 
taken in by Hamlet's counterfeit madness ? Before 
which of these does he exhibit it with greatest glee ? 
Why ? Does Hamlet play the madman before any one 
consistently and all the time ? What features of his 
mind make it very easy for Hamlet to deceive those 
about him in this way ? What privileges and licenses 
very dear to him does Hamlet secure for himself by 
his simulated madness ? 

7. Is it perfectly clear and beyond question that Hamlet 
is only pretending madness in this scene ? 

8. What indications do you find in 170-223 that Hamlet 
knows of Polonius's plot against him ? How could he 
have learned of it ? More than once in the play he dis- 
covers intrigues against him by means which are left 
dark to us. This is a part of the silent testimony to his 



196 HAMLET 

superhuman intellectual subtlety. Ideas, bits of infor- 
mation, guesses, emotions, imaginations, suspicions, and 
certitudes flash together in his mind from all the back- 
ground of his experience and shape themselves in- 
stantly, it would seem, into orderly wholes, like the bits 
of broken glass in a kaleidoscope. In the creation of 
this mind Shakespeare gave us, as far as it was possible, 
the reflex of his own. 
9. Note that the dialogue between Hamlet and Polonius 
is the first extended piece of prose in the play. Ex- 
plain. 

10. Find instances of delightful raillery in Hamlet's words 
to Polonius. Find dramatic irony in Polonius's replies. 

11. What indications are there that Hamlet knows Rosen- 
crantz and Guildenstern are set to spy upon him ? How 
can he have learned this ? 

12. What do you think have been the previous relations 
between Hamlet and the two spies ? Was Goethe's 
Wilhelm Meister right in thinking that Shakespeare 
had these two hunt in a couj)le because one alone would 
have been unnoticed, being of such light weight ? What 
is the bearing on this point of 33-34 ? 

13. In what ways do 304-324 resemble Hamlet's sohlo- 
quies ? Why is it perfectly natural that he should speak 
on this occasion as though he were alone ? Note that 
this speech contains some of the noblest poetry uttered 
by Hamlet in the play, and yet it is spoken chiefly with 
the intent of making Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 
think him mad. It succeeds. Why ? If Hamlet has 
only to speak to these normal, representative men as 
he speaks habitually to himself in order to convince 
them of his insanity, is there some real and important 
sense in which he is actually insane ? Is it clear that in 
his ordinary intercourse with society, when he wishes to 
appear sane, he must put a check upon his thought and 
expression ? Does this explain his delight in the game 
he is playing at present ? 

*14. In what ways do 341-379 refer to theatrical con- 
ditions in London at about the time Hamlet was writ- 



HAMLET 137 

ten? See Furness Variorum notes. Is this sort of 
reference to contemporary London affairs at all usual 
with Shakespeare ? Is it true to fact to represent Eng- 
lish actors as performing in Denmark ? Hamlet speaks 
as tliough he bad seen these players at Wittenberg. 
Is this probable ? See, if possible, Cohn's Shakespeare 
in Germany. 

15. How does all this talk about players and plays assist 
the illusion of reality which it is always the dramatist's 
desire to create ? What does it tell us about Hamlet's 
past life ? Does it add anything to our notion of his 
character ? Does it advance the action ? 

16. What qualities in the lines about the fall of Troy does 
Hamlet find praiseworthy ? Do you think Shakespeare 
is using Hamlet here as a mouthpiece for his own 
opinions ? Is it customary with him to speak his whole 
thought through the mouth of any character ? Is Shake- 
speare's dramatic writing excellent for the qualities 
here praised? Do the specimen lines that follow seem 
to deserve this praise ? 

17. What reasons does Hamlet give for employing the 
device of the play in testing tlie king ? Is he entirely 
sincere with himsell; ? 

18. Can you give any explanation of the bombast and 
fustian in the S2)ecimen lines ? Is it not clear that Ham- 
let takes them seriously and really thinks them good ? 
When the players have left him, Hamlet speaks of 
their performance with praise. Coleridge thought the 
lines were actually good. They are in reality a sort of 
parody of a passage in Dido, Queen of Carthage, sup- 

. posed to have been written by Marlowe and Nash. 
For one line of explanation, compare ^11 ff- The poorer 
the play, the more effective had to be the acting. A. 
W. Schlegel had an interesting opinion that "to distin- 
guish these lines as dramatic poetry in the play itself, 
it was necessary that they should rise above its digni- 
fied poetry in the same proportion that the theatrical 
elevation does above simple nature." Does this com- 
ment seem to hold good for the play within the play 



138 HAMLET 

in the following act? Does it hold good for that in 

The Tempest ? 

19. Into what divisions does this scene fall ? 

20. Show that a considerable space of time separates the 
action of Act I from that of Act II. 

Ill, 1. 

1. Why does Ophelia so easily consent to act as decoy to 
the man she loves ? 

2. Are 56-88 organic ? That is, are they applicable to the 
situation of the speaker ? Prove your point in detail. 
Might this great speech have been placed in any other 
part of the play as well as here ? 

3. Memorize these lines. 

4. Compare this soliloquy with sonnet ^%. Does it seem 
safe to draw any inference from the resemblance ? 

5. Explain the sudden change in Hamlet's manner in 
1. 103. How far does this changed manner persist ? 

6. Are Hamlet's words to Ophelia in 107^. in any way 
applicable to her ? Explain. What leads him to speak 
so? 

7. What is the effect of Ophelia's "At home, my 
lord" upon Hamlet? Why? For what reasons may 
we consider this line as marking the climax of the 

play? 

8. What do 158-169 indicate regarding Ophelia's intel- 
lectual powers, character, and former attitude toward 
Hamlet? Does she see chiefly those things in Hamlet 
which her brother would have valued in himself or in 
another man ? With 168a compare II, 1, 102. Does 
Ophelia misinterpret Hamlet's manner because of her 
feminine tendency to explain everything in terms of 
amatory passion or because she relies upon her father's 
opinion — or for both reasons ? 

9. Is the king convinced by Hamlet's show of madness ? 
Compare 170 and 196. Why ? 

10. What appears to be the leading feature of Polonius's 
diplomacy ? Give several illustrations. 



HAMLET 139 

III, 2. 

1. Is Shakespeare speaking his own thought solely in 
1-50 ? Or are these the words of one who is only a 
highly intelligent amateur ? If the former supposition 
seems the more likely, give some reasons that may have 
led the poet to depart, in this instance, from his habit 
of professional reticence. Remember that throughout 
his public career Shakespeare's work as an actor must 
have absorbed more of his time and attention than his 
activity as a dramatist. Remember also his managerial 
position at the Globe Theater. 

2. Sum up in a few words Hamlet's advice to the jjlayers. 
How much of it applies to dramatic writing as well as 
to acting ? Comment fully upon the statement that the 
" purpose of playing ... is to hold . . . the mirror 
up to nature." Is Hamlet arguing for what we under- 
stand as realism in acting ? 

3. Why does Hamlet choose just this time to bind him- 
self closer to Horatio ? Compare question 10, on I, 2. 
Judging from the character Hamlet gives to Horatio 
do you consider the latter a higlily lovable person ? 
Why does Hamlet seem so fond of him at the present 
juncture of events ? Would he admire him so much 
under other conditions ? 

4. Is Hamlet right in his estimate of Horatio ? What is 
the leading trait in Horatio's character, according to 
Hamlet ? Note that Horatio provides the norm or stand- 
ard by which we estimate the aberrations of Hamlet. 
This is his dramatic function. It is not easy to make 
such personifications of normality interesting in and for 
themselves. 

5. What apparent fault is there in giving the argument of 
the play in dumb show, that is, in presenting the poison- 
ing scene twice ? 

6. Discuss the literary quality of the play within the play. 
Why are the lines in rhymed verse ? Is Schlegel's ex- 
planation of the bombast in the earlier specimen lines 
— quoted in question 18 on II, 2 — applicable here? 



140 HAMLET 

7. Where are the " dozen or sixteen lines " written hy Ham- 
let for insertion in the play ? Compare II, 2, 565-568. 
Be prepared to support your choice. 

8. Comment upon 1. 279. What inference do you draw 
from it ? 

9. Do Hamlet's high spirits in the rest of the scene arise 
from his demonstration of the king's guilt or from his 
delight in the complete success of the artistic means used 
in the demonstration ? 

10. With 282-285 compare As You Like It, II, 1, 45-63. 

11. Comment upon the manner of Rosencrantz and Guild- 
enstern in their talk with Hamlet. How do you ex- 
plain the change since their first meeting ? 

12. Does it seem wise for the king and queen to show 
" choler " and " amazement " at anything Hamlet has 
done? 

13. What is the meaning of " by and by," 1. 400, in Shake- 
speare? Explain the change to the sense in which it is 
used to-day. Compare " presently." 

14. With 393-399 compare V, 2, 95 # 

15. Which of the three injunctions of the Ghost are recalled 
in410jf.? 

Ill, 3. 

1. Where has the king shown contrition before? What 
advantage is gained in showing that he suffered some 
remorse ? But how is the moral validity of his remorse 
almost entirely nullified ? 

2. What famous passage in Shakesj^eare is recalled by 
43b-46a ? 

3. Estimate carefully the character and present mood 
of the speaker in 36-72. Is Shakespeare " fair " to 
Claudius ? That is, is he careful to show the good with 
the bad and to give due weight to all the motives lead- 
ing to evil action ? Is Claudius still morally and spirit- 
ually alive ? 

4. Is Hamlet presented as Roman Catholic or Protestant 
in 72-96 ? Does the passage afford any clue to the re- 
ligious beliefs of Shakespeare ? 



HAMLET 141 

5. Is the reason here given by Hamlet for delaying re- 
venge entirely sincere ? In reality, why does he delay? 
Comment upon 1. 96. How does it apply to Hamlet? 

Ill, 4. 

1. What irony in 1. 4b ? In 1. 6 ? Note the moral obtuse- 
ness implied in the latter words. The queen intends to 
reprove Hamlet as she did when he was a child. The 
words are wonderfully natural and true. 

2. In 1. 6 the queen shows that her motherhood is of the 
lowest type. In 21-22a she shows that her womanhood 
is of the same sort by taking advantage of all its pre- 
rogatives while accepting none of its obligations. Show 
this fully. Is there any evidence in the text that Ham- 
let threatens her life ? Why, then, does she cry out, 
endangering his life in so doing? What is there in 
Hamlet's manner and words to cause her to explode in 
this way ? Compare carefully and comment upon 21- 
22a and 30a. 

3. Compare and comment upon 26b and 32a. What makes 
Hamlet so prompt to strike here, although just before 
he could not ? 

4. Comment upon the supreme fitness and justice of the 
manner of Polonius's death. Who is really responsible 
for it ? 

5. Does it seem natural and right that Hamlet should 
make so little of the killing of Polonius ? 

6. Against what accusation is the queen bracing herself in 
39-40a and 51b-52? Why is she here so bold and 
confident ? Is it the boldness of real innocence ? How 
does Hamlet beat down this guard ? 

7. Support from this scene alone your opinion as to whether 
the queen was innocent or guilty in the matter of her 
first husband's murder. The evidence on either side is 
intangible and elusive. Why, after all, does it matter 
little ? 

8. What action should accompany the speaking of 53-54 ? 

9. Why does not the queen see or hear the ghost of her 
former husband ? 



142 HAMLET 

10. How and when has Hamlet's purpose been "blunted" ? 
Explain the reasons for the Ghost's appearance. 

11. Comment upon 1. 200a. Why does Hamlet wish to 
know whether his mother knows of it ? How does he 
know of it himself ? Cf. Ill, 1, 177, III, 3, 4, and IV, 
3, 48b. 

IV, 1. 

1. Does it seem natural that a new act should begin here? 

2. Does the queen do as Hamlet asks her to do in III, 4, 
181^., in this scene? Comment ujjon 1. 27b. 

3. Comment upon the queen's characterization of Polonius. 

IV, 3. 

1. With 20-33 compare V, 1, 218-239. 

2. With 48-50 compare III, 4, 199-204. Are these pas- 
sages inconsistent ? 

3. Give more than one reason why Hamlet is not sorry to 
start for England. 

4. Judging from this scene, date the action of the play 
approximately. 

IV, 4. 

1. What justification is there for presenting Fortinbras 
and his army here, aside from the fact that it affords 
Hamlet occasion for another self-accusing soliloquy ? 
Why is it important that we should be aware of the 
contrast between Hamlet and Fortinbras ? 

IV, 5. 

1. Comment fully upon 17-20. How do these lines bear 
upon the question of the queen's complicity in the mur- 
der, or at least guilty knowledge of it ? 

2. Try to thread the maze of thoughts and emotions 
vaguely indicated in Ophelia's songs and speeches. 
Does she know how her father met his death ? What 
ideas does her mind chiefly run upon ? Would it ap- 
pear that Ophelia has lost her mind because of some 
fearful strain that it has been subjected to or because 



HAMLET 143 

she had not much mind to lose ? The poet's problem 
has been to make her fit to attract Hamlet yet too 
weak to hold him. 

3. Explain the queen's meaning in 109-110. Of what or 
whom is she thinking ? Compare 1. 128c. To whom is 
she loyal, — husband or son ? 

4. What consideration mars the apparent nobility of 120- 
127 ? Is Claudius depending chiefly upon his divine 
right or upon his " Switzers" ? 

5. Note that the queen is present while 140-152 are spoken 
and must know well what the king intends, yet she 
makes no protest either here or later. Why does the 
king postpone further talk with Laertes in 202^".? 

6. Comment upon the manner of Laertes throughout this 
scene. Granting him manliness, energy, and determi- 
nation, what fault do you find in his manner ? Does 
he remind you in any way of Polonius in these speeches? 
What fault does Hamlet find with it in V, 1, 277 ff. ? 

IV, 6. 

1. Is there anything strange in the story Hamlet writes of 
the meeting with the pirate ship ? Can you explain it ? 
Does it seem natural that Hamlet should be the only 
one captured ? Comj^are III, 4, 210. Why does Hamlet 
say, " They knew what they did " ? 

IV, 7. 

1. With 18-21 compare IV, 3, 4-7. Does Hamlet seem 
the sort of man to win great popularity with the peo- 
ple? Compare III, 1, 158^. 

2. Outline the method by which the king wins Laertes to 
his purpose. 

3. Is it better that the suggestion of the poisoned foil 
should come from Laertes, as here, or from Claudius, 
as in the first quarto ? Note that the suggestion of the 
poisoned cup comes from Claudius and that the speak- 
ers suggest the means of their own deaths. 

4. What elements of beauty do you find in the report of 
Ophelia's death? 



144 HAMLET 

V,l. 

1. What Is the aesthetic purpose of the low comedy ? Dis- 
tinguish the two clowns. Comment upon the elaborate 
logical processes of the first clown. Where has he caught 
this habit or manner ? Compare Dogberry. 

2. Does Hamlet remind you of Jaques in any way in this 
scene ? 

3. What is the dramatic value of the clown's statement 
that Hamlet was '' sent into England " ? 

4. What is the age of Hamlet ? Does this agree with other 
indications and with your feeling ? Compare I, 3, 124. 

5. Comment upon Laertes' manner in his mourning. 
What false note does Hamlet catch in it? ExpLain 
Hamlet's bombast in 298^. Compare V, 2, 79-80a. 

6. How does this scene advance the action and prepare 
for later events? What important character contrast 
does it emphasize ? Comment upon the wide emotional 
range of the scene. 

V, 2. 

1. Comment upon 7b-lla as an illustration of Hamlet's 
character. Is there anything surprising in this praise 
of rashness and indiscretion ? Where has this trait been 
illustrated before ? How does its expression here pre- 
pare for the closing events of the play ? 

2. What is the purpose of 1-62 ? Why is it necessary that 
we should know of the events here related ? With these 
events in mind, what do you think of the view that Ham- 
let was temperamentally unfit for action and of the view 
that he had an invincible aversion to violence and blood- 
shed ? Compare III, 4, 202 ff. and explain Hamlet's 
evident delight in the remembrance of these events. 

3. Do you think that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern got 
simple justice ? Is it certain that they knew the con- 
tents of the king's letter to England ? But is this the 
whole question? 

4. Explain 77-78a. What is the dramatic value of this 
parallelism and how far does it extend ? What is the 



HAMLET 145 

value for future events of Hamlet's desire to conciliate 
Laertes ? 

5. Paraphrase 108-129. What is Hamlet's purpose in his 
reply ? Show, by comparison with other passages in 
which there is no suggestion of parody, that Shake- 
speare is here burlesquing his own style. 

6. Paraphrase 195-202. Is this passage of " Shake- 
spearese " any less difficult and affected in style than 
108-129, which is obviously a parody of Euphuistic or 
Arcadian speech ? 

7. What is the dramatic value of 220-235 ? Show that 
Hamlet expects more than a mere fencing match — that, 
as always, he sees the trap before walking into it. 

8. Discuss the sincerity of 237-255a. Compare 215-216. 
Note the black treachery of Laertes' reply and contrast 
his desire to keep his honor unsmirched before the world. 
What hereditary trait here ? 

9. Comment upon the merits of 291-342 as stage spectacle. 

10. Is the king's punishment adequate ? Show that the final 
seal is set upon Hamlet's failure in this scene, the 
scene in wliicli he accomplishes his task. In speaking 
of Hamlet's failure, do we refer to the injunctions laid 
upon him by the Ghost or to the fact that he has not 
commanded and exerted his full resources as a man ? 
How much part has " poetic justice " in this final closing 
of accounts and how much has mere blind chance ? 
Does the close of the play illustrate the truth of 10- 
11a? 

11. Paraphrase and explain the full meaning of 355-360a. 
Try to express a part, at least, of Hamlet's meaning in 
his last, unforgettable words, " The rest is silence." 

12. AVhat is the dramatic purpose and value of Fortinbras' 
entrance and of Hamlet's delegation of the throne to 
him ? Compare the last lines of King Lear and the close 
of Macbeth. How has this been prepared for ? In what 
ways is Fortinbras really a better man for the throne 
than Hamlet ? 

13. Comment upon the solemn grandeur of the closing 
tableau. 



OTHELLO 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. Outline the plot. With what incident does the action 
start ? Where is the climax of the play ? Why does it 
occur so late? In other words, why is the "rising 
action " so much longer than the " falling action " ? 
Does any single character originate and control the 
action ? 
*2. AVhat length of time actually elapses during the action 
that is shown and the intervals indicated in the text ? 
Is there any disparity between this actual time and 
the time that is suggested to the imagination ? Point 
out the devices by which the poet builds up an illusion 
of a lapse of time different from the actual one. What 
is the purpose of this double time scheme ? 

3. Enumerate all the important ways in which Othello is 
commended to our sympathy, respect, and admiration. 
Why is this done with such extreme care and in so 
many different ways ? Does the poet consider such 
elaborate recommendation necessary for his other tragic 
heroes — say Coriolanus and Macbeth ? How far 
through the play does the effect of this extend ? 

4. Discuss, in general, Othello's nobility. Quite apart 
from the closing events of his life, do you find any ele- 
ments of pathos in his character and experience ? Gather 
all hints as to what he has been in the past. What are 
his most serious limitations in mind and knowledge ? 
Are these limitations, like those of Coriolanus, Lear, 
and Macbeth, derogatory to his character or are they, 
like those of Romeo, Brutus, and Hamlet, rather the 

' defects of his qualities " ? What is the bearing of 
this upon the total effect of the play ? 
*5. Show in detail that lago's character is designed with 



OTHELLO 147 

extreme nicety for just the part that he is to play. A 
careful study of this matter may illumine some of the 
darker secrets of the poet's creative methods. It may 
help toward a solution of the interesting question as to 
whether he started to work with several fixed and in- 
variable characters or whether he chose only one or 
two such fixed characters and made all the others fit 
into them. 

6. Pleasure, according to Herbert Spencer, is only the 
" normal functioning of an organ in an act." Try to 
explain lago's intrigue from this point of view. What 
is the nature of lago's power ? Can it be shown that 
the wickedness of this most thoroughly evil man ever 
imagined is due to the fact that he lives solely in the 
realm of intellect ? 

7. What are the motives of lago's action ? Hatred o£ 
virtue, nobility, worth, and of those who show these 
qualities ? Desire for revenge ? Jealousy ? Lust ? 
Greed ? Longing for a thorough trial of his powers ? 
Cite all passages bearing upon the point and make 
your decision, remembering that lago prefers false- 
hood to honesty even in his soliloquies. Is it necessary 
to suppose that lie himself knew his motives clearly 
and fully ? 

8. Collect all passages bearing upon the following ques- 
tions: Is Othello naturally and inherently a jealous 
man ? Can it be proved that he is jealous at any point 
in the play? As a supreme test, consider carefully 
V, 2, 1-83. Remembering the great difference between 
what we know and what Othello knows of lago, do you 
think that Othello's final conviction of his wife's guilt 
argues stupidity, credulity or a predisposition to jealousy 
on his part ? 

9. Does Othello take Desdemona's life in anger, in a fit 
of jealousy, to jDrotect and avenge his wounded honor, 
or as an act of disinterested judgment upon her? 

10. Show that Othello and Desdemona come to grief be- 
cause of their nobility and that they could scarcely 
have acted in any way other than that here shown 



148 OTHELLO 

without inconsistency or dishonor. For example, is it 
not greatly to their credit that they could not conceive 
such duplicity as tliat of lago ? 

11. State very carefully the effect of the play upon you 
after a rapid reading. Few plays suffer more in entire 
impressionistic effect from the sort of analysis here 
outlined, but it is hoped that this analysis will show 
that the impressionistic effect of the whole is not all 
that is to be sought in a great work of art, although it 
is unquestionably the greater part. No other tragedy 
of Shakespeare's is so well fitted to the stage. One 
does not know the play's gigantic power until he has 
seen it adequately performed. 

12. Compare this play in any ways that seem to you im- 
portant with Ha7iilet, Macbeth, and King Lear. 



DETAILED QUESTIONS 

1,1. 

1. What is the foundation and cause of the friendship be- 
tween lago and Roderigo ? 

2. Is Roderigo in any sense a bad man ? What is his 
fault ? 

3. What evidences of Othello's importance do you find in 
1-33? 

4. Characterize Cassio, basing your judgment entirely 
upon 18-31. It is evident that in order to derive the 
real Cassio from this description we should have to 
subtract a large admixture of lago. Is this true of 
lago's pronouncements in general ? Is he incapable of 
seeing men and events as they really are ? 

5. What character does lago give himself in 41-65 ? Does 
he think this is his true character '<* 

6. Why does lago feel so free to reveal his character and 
motives to Roderigo ? What important dramatic pur- 
pose is served by tliis ? Show that Roderigo's charac- 
ter was designed to serve this purpose. Do you think 
lago is making sport of Roderigo in 1-80 ? 



OTHELLO 149 

7. With 1. 143 and 1. 172 compare I, 2, 63, ff. Comment. 

8. Collect the oaths of lago in this scene. What is their 
nature ? Does lago use them and choose them with 
design ? 

9. What exposition in this scene ? What other purposes 
does the scene serve ? 

1,2. 

1. How does lago's manner and bearing toward Othello 
differ from his manner and bearing toward Roderigo ? 
How has he gained Roderigo's confidence ? How that 
of Othello? 

2. Point out evidences of poise and self-confidence in 
Othello in 1-32. 

3. With 48-52 compare III, 3, 71-72. 

4. Explain lago's motive in 1. 58. 

5. Comment upon 1. 59. Supreme self-possession speaks in 
the very rhythm of the words. 

6. What exposition in this scene? State carefully the 
purpose of the first two scenes. Discuss Dr. Johnson's 
opinion that the play would have been improved by the 
elimination of these scenes and the mere narration of 
their action. 

7. How much needs to be added to the characters of 
Othello and Desdemona as presented thus far in order 
to make a full and rounded picture ? 

8. What is the importance for the play of lago's control 
of Roderigo? What preparation for later events do 
you find in the manner in which that control has been 
gained ? 

1,3. 

1. Do 1-47 advance the action ? What purpose do they 

serve ? 
*2. Othello is not a Venetian. Then why is he employed 

on such a mission as that mentioned in 48-49 ? What 

famous soldiers were employed in much the same way 

by other Italian cities ? 
3. Considering the importance of the state business in 



150 OTHELLO 

progress, do you think the interruption of it in 52-220 
realistic and convincing ? 

4. Comment upon the character shown in 76-94. Note 
the great beauty and power of this and of Othello's 
next long speech. 

5. Comment upon 1. 121. Compare 1. 285 and 1. 295. 

6. Is there any change in your attitude toward Brabantio 
as the scene proceeds ? 

7. What is the special significance, in view of later events, 
of 293-294 ? 

8v Explain the change to prose in 1. 302, 

9. What characterization do you find in 321-337 ? Com- 
ment upon the stress lago gives to strength of will. 
Why is his opinion of love important and significant ? 

10. Explain the many repetitions of " put money in thy 
purse " in 338-368. 

11. Coleridge explains 389-410 as the " motive hunting of 
a motiveless malignity." D. N. Snider thinks the mo- 
tives here expressed are sincere. Support either opinion. 

11,1. 

1. Note the successive stages of suspense regarding Othel- 
lo's safety. What is the value of this suspense ? How 
does it affect our attitude toward Othello ? 

2. Is Montano really glad that Othello is coming? Why? 
How does his attitude toward Othello help the charac- 
terization of the latter ? 

3. What is the dramatic value of Cassio's praise of Des- 
demona ? 

4. Coleridge says : " lago's answers are the sneers that a 
proud, bad intellect feels toward women and expresses 
to a wife." Contrast Cassio's attitude toward women 
with lago's. 

5. Characterize lago's talk about women. What is his 
age ? Compare I, 3, 312. 

6. Does Shakespeare seem to think that a man's attitude 
toward women is indicative of his character in gen- 
eral ? Illustrate from Julius Ccesar. Of course, better 
men than lago have held his opinions about women — 



OTHELLO 151 

Strindberg, for example, and Schopenhauer, and Otto 
Weminger. What seems to be Shakespeare's attitude, 
judging from the mouth into which he puts these opin- 
ions ? 
7. With 295^. compare I, 3, 392^. What inference do 
you draw ? 

11,3. 

1. Explain the insistence upon the idea expressed in 6b. 

2. By what means does lago persuade Cassio to drink ? 

3. Show that lago's song, 71-75, is suited both in sound 
and sense to the singer. But is lago really a lover of 
drink ? 

4. Compare 78-81 with Hamlet, I, 4, 8-32. Comment. 
What is the value of lago's saying, " I learned it in 
England " ? 

5. Does it seem natural that lago should speak in praise 
of wine ? 

6. Explain the story told by lago in 225-239. Point out 
the matchless cunning and superb daring of it all. 

7. Are Cassio's words against wine, 282-284, often quoted 
by advocates of prohibition, to be taken as an expres- 
sion of Shakespeare's own thought on the subject? 
Why? Compare 313-315 and // Henrij IV, IV, 3, 
92-135. 

*8. Comment upon the extensive use of the soliloquy in de- 
veloping the character of lago. Does it seem that in 
his maturer work Shakespeare employs the soliloquy 
chiefly for the elucidation of difficult and complicated 
material, either in the way of character or in that of 
action ? What additional reason for its use can you see 
in the case of lago ? What characters in Shakespeare's 
plays are especially given to the soliloquy ? What char- 
acters soliloquize scarcely at all ? Why is this con- 
venient device so seldom used to-day in dramatic 
writing ? 
9. Comment upon 1. 385. What sort of pleasure does lago 
take in the plot he is weaving ? 

10. Outline the intrigue of lago up to the point it has 



152 OTHELLO 

reached by the end of Act 11. Exi:)laln each detail of 
his action as far as possible. 
11. Comment upon 1. 394. Why should lago fear delay ? 
Why does he drive the action at such a furious pace ? 

Ill, 1. 

1. What is the dramatic effect of Cassio's determination 
to speak personally with Desdemona ? That is, what 
effect is it calculated to have upon the audience ? 

2. Does it seem that Emilia is in league with her husband 
here ? 

Ill, 3. 

1. Discuss the sincerity of 3-4. Where has Desdemona 
acquired the opinion expressed in 1. 5a ? Notice that 
the source of the opinion is such as to make it almost 
an article of religion with her. 

2. What is the effect upon the audience of 22b-26 ? Point 
out dramatic irony in 26-28. 

3. Why does not Cassio stay and what does he mean in 
saying that he is " unfit for his own purposes " ? Does 
the important dramatic accident which occurs in 29- 
35 seem quite natural and unforced ? 

4. In what sense and degree is it true to say that the real 
action and conflict of the play begin with 1. 35 ? Why 
do they begin so late ? In most of Shakespeare's trag- 
edies do we not look for the climax of the action at 
about this point ? 

5. What is the effect of Othello's short sentences in 40- 
59 ? Do you think the poet treats Othello's first touch 
of suspicion and its swift passing with perfect precision 
and restraint ? The present passage has an important 
bearing upon the question as to whether Othello was of 
a naturally jealous disposition. What is the indication 
here ? 

6. What is the effect upon Othello of 76b-83a, just after 
he has granted his wife's request ? Might he not well 
say with the queen in Hamlet, " The lady protests too 
much, methinks " ? Show that throughout these crucial 



OTHELLO 153 

moments Desdemona acts, quite innocently, in just the 
wrong way. 

7. Infer the main features of lago's plan of action from 
94-95. 

8. Why does Othello ask just the question in 1. 103a of 
lago ? Into what two classes does Othello seem to di- 
vide men ? Does lago seem to have a larger number of 
pigeon holes ? 

9. Does not 1. 119 express the exact truth about lago? 
Comment. 

10. Note that 155-161 constitute almost the only extended 
passage that is well known and frequently quoted from 
this play. What comment should be made upon the 
fact that they are spoken by the deepest-dyed villain in 
Shakespeare's theater ? Should this not teach us caution 
in accepting every " wise saw and modern instance " in 
the plays as an expression of the poet's whole thought 
on the given subject? Yet it is clear, of course, that 
in this passage lago speaks, with diabolical ingenuity, 
what he knows would be Othello's own noble thought 
on the subject of personal honor. lago knows, as the 
devils do, what goodness is. His hypocrisy, here and 
everywhere except at the very end, is the grudging 
homage which he pays to virtue. 

11. Show that lago has arrived at the truth expressed in 
155-161 during the process of his thought about the 
plot against Othello. Show that this truth may be con- 
sidered as the foundation of that plot. Would lago 
have spoken thus to Roderigo ? 

12. Upon what weakness in Othello is lago playing in 163- 
164 ? Note the rejoinder. 

13. What characteristic of Othello is indicated in 179b- 
180a? 

14. Do you find any special strength and ingenuity in the 
stroke made by lago in 200-204 ? 

15. How is Desdemona's innocence pathetically and power- 
fully shown in 1. 285 ? 

16. Comment upon the dramatic accident noted in 1. 287 
and the stage direction. To what sort of feeling on the 



154 OTHELLO 

part of Desdemona is this accident immediately due ? 
How does it happen that she leaves the handker- 
chief ? 

17. Infer from 295-320 the nature of the relations be- 
tween lago and his wife. 

18. Explain 1. 329h. What is the secret of the great poetic 
beauty of 330-333a and 347b-357 ? Memorize the 
latter group of lines. 

19. Why does Othello bid farewell to the " pomp and cir- 
cumstance of glorious war " ? 

III, 4. 

1. Compare the clown here presented with any other of 
the clowns and fools of Shakespeare that you know. 
Explain important differences on the ground that the 
poet wished to have the present play make a peculiar 
effect and calculated all details accordingly. 

2- What do 55-68 and 69-75 add to your knowledge of 
Othello's past history and his resultant present charac- 
ter ? What other value have these speeches ? Do you 
think Othello is telling what he considers the truth 
about the history of the handkerchief ? 

3. Comment upon the lie told by Desdemona in 83^. Or 
is it a lie ? What are its results ? 

4. Does the reason given by Cassio in 188-191 seem ade- 
quate ? Comment. 

5. What is the value of this scene between Cassio and 
Bianca, both for what is past and for what is to come ? 

IV, 1. 

1. Criticize 46-48. Does it seem probable that lago would 
speak thus ? Why ? 

2. What is the meaning of " unbookish jealousy " in 1. 102.'^ 
Does the phrase fit the facts of the case ? 

3. Comment upon the entrance of Bianca after 1. 149. 
How many dramatic accidents have we had thus far ? 
Are they all slight and seemingly unimi3ortant ? Do 
they all tend in the same direction ? That is, do they 
all favor lago ? 



OTHELLO 155 

4. Comment upon Theobald's stage direction, " striking 
her," 1. 251. Do you think it is probably correct ? 

IV, 2. 

1. Comment upon the admirable stroke of characteriza- 
tion in 125-127. 

IV, 3. 

1. What is the source of the pathos in 28-54 ? 

2. What is the probable purpose of Emilia in 87-104 ? Is 
it an unusual doctrine that she enunciates ? Perhaps we 
should note again that there is no reason for supposing 
that the poet spoke his own thought through such 
mouthpieces as lago and his wife. Emilia has reason, 
if any woman has ever had, to think- ill of husbands, 
but this is not equivalent to saying that she is a good 
and an unbiased judge. 

V,l. 

1. Which of the reasons lago gives for killing Cassio 
seems nearest his real reason ? 

2. What is the immediate effect upon Othello of the 
wounding of Cassio ? 

3. What are lago's reasons for killing Roderigo ? 

4. Comment fully upon the effect of this scene and upon 
the means by which it is secured. 

V, 2. 

1. What is the full meaning of 1. 1 ? Of 1. 7 ? 

2. Explain " This sorrow 's heavenly," 1. 21b. 

3. What elements of strength, beauty, pathos, do you find 
in 1-22 ? 

4. In this speech, and throughout the scene, collect as many 
passages as possible in which hate struggles with great 
tenderness. Which is the closer in its specific applica- 
tion to Desdemona — Othello's hate or his tenderness ? 
Which is the more generalized ? 

5. Do you think the poet chose wisely in having Desde- 
mona waken ? What do her words add to our knowl- 



156 OTHELLO 

edge of her feeling and thought ? Does the colloquy- 
add at all to our knowledge of Othello and sympathy 
for him ? 

6. Comment fully upon Desdemona's words and manner 
here. Despite, or rather because of their utter sim- 
plicity, these words are as thrilling as any ShakesjDeare 
ever wrote. 

7. What two interpretations might be put upon 1. 76 ? 
Which of the two does Othello seize upon ? What is 
the result ? Show that the immediate cause of Desde- 
mona's death, like the causes of all her woes, is her 
higher nature, her kindliness, and, in the best sense of 
a long-suffering word, her sweetness. 

8. Comment upon the dramatic accident in the time at 
which Emilia knocks at the door. 

9. Compare the effect of this knocking at the door with the 
knocking at the gate in Macbeth. What have the two 
incidents in common, showing that the poet must have 
had a desired effect clearly in mind in both instances ? 

10. There is perhaps a pitch beyond which pathos may not 
pass and remain tolerable. Do you think that 124-125 
come near the limit ? There is only one line in Shake- 
speare — King Lear, V, 3, 274 — that transcends in 
pathos these words that Desdemona's heroic spirit 
struggles back through the dark to speak in defense 
of her lord. 

11. By what means is this scene saved from the melodra- 
matic tone which the events it contains tend so strongly 
to give it ? Note especially the style of 23-83. There 
is no better illustration of the virtues of restraint and 
simplicity — qualities which Shakespeare could com- 
mand upon occasion. 

12. Outline the movement of Emilia's thought from 126 
to 155. Compare her speeches after 1. 155 with her 
earlier speeches in the play. What is the difference 
and how is it caused ? Has the change been prepared 
for ? Compare Emilia's treatment of lago in 169 ff. 
with that in III, 3, 300 ff. Explain the difference. 

13. Show that Othello has never thought of the killing of 



OTHELLO 157 

his wife as a murder. Does this explain his lame de- 
fense before Emilia ? 

14. How does the killing of Emilia help the play ? 

15. With 243b-246a compare III, 3, 347-357. 

16. Comment upon the manner of Othello's death. Does it 
seem to you merely theatrical or natural, even inevi- 
table? 



KING LEAR 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. Enumerate the actions of the play. Show their inter- 
connections. Where do they run parallel and what 
contrasts do they present? 

2. Into what three or four main groups may the persons 
of the drama be divided, according to character ? Lead- 
ing characteristic of each group ? What characters oscil- 
late between groups or pass from one to another ? 

3. Does this radical distinction between groups seem arti- 
ficial or natural ? What early form of English drama 
does it recall ? AVhat is its purpose ? Is this a form and a 
purpose in which Shakespeare frequently worked? AVhy? 

*4. Draw a simple diagram that will show the rise, culmi- 
nation, decline, and ruin of the hero's power, with their 
relative durations. Wliat is peculiar about the structure 
of this play ? How is this peculiarity justified by the 
nature of the poet's problem ? Draw a similar diagram 
for Macbeth. Deduce from these diagrams themselves 
as much as possible as to the nature of the tragedies 
they symbolize and the nature of the emotions they 
awaken, — whether chiefly sustained admiration, as 
in Julius Ccesar, admiration mingled with dislike, as 
in Coriolanus, love and fear, as in Romeo aiicl Juliet, 
love and admiration intensified by our sense of the 
hero's fatal weakness, as in Othello and Hamlet, or 
simply great pity and an overpowering sense of inevi- 
table, inscrutable Fate. 
5. Comment upon the poet's daring in resting the whole 
tragedy upon a rather sordid family quarrel. Does this 
weaken or strengthen the pathos of the king's struggle ? 
What facts make it certain that Shakespeare intended 
this play to symbolize the ancient, never-ending tragedy 



KING LEAR 159 

of the two generations, or, as Tourgeniev phrased it, 
of Fathers and Sons ? 

6. Show that the poet does not wish us to sympathize ex- 
clusively with either side in this struggle but wants to 
make us see that the struggle is due to a universal law 
of nature that over-rides human hearts. Make out as 
good a case as you can for Goneril and Regan and for 
Edmund. What can be said against the greatly over- 
praised Cordelia ? Wherein is the king clearly in the 
wrong ? What is the source of our pity for him ? 

7. Discuss fully the function and character of the fool. 
Of Kent. 

8. What differences do you find between Goneril and Re- 
gan ? Compare their villainy, as to its motives, with 
that of Edmund. Compare their plot, a woman's plot, 
with Edmund's. Does it seem correct to say that Shake- 
speare's worst women sound greater depths of vileness 
than his worst men ? Do the two sisters impress you 
as real, human, convincing ? Does the contrast between 
them and Cordelia seem natural ? AVliy does Shake- 
speare care less here than elsewhere about matters of 
verisimilitude ? 

9. What features of this play render an adequate stage 
presentation impossible ? Why is it the supreme mani- 
festation of Shakespeare's genius as poet but not of his 
genius as a writer for the stage ? Why is it the fittest 
of all his plays for musical interpretation ? 

10. Professor A. C Bradley says that the theme of this play 
is the redemption of a selfish old man through love and 
suffering. Does this seem adequate ? What seems to 
be Shakespeare's solution, supposing that he had one, 
of the mystery of evil and pain ? 

DETAILED QUESTIONS 

1,1. 

1. Should we attribute the evil in Edmund's nature to the 
actual conditions of his birth or to his father's attitude 
toward those conditions ? 



160 KING LEAR 

2. Was the formal partition of the kingdom in this scene 
the first indication to Lear's followers of his intention ? 
Compare 3-7. Also 1. 197. 

3. What is the dramatic value of this ? How does it link 
the action of the play with past time ? What bearing 
has it upon 53-54 ? 

4. Comment fully, both in praise and blame, upon Cor- 
delia's answer. It does not follow from the fact that 
her sisters are inhumanly evil that Cordelia must be 
super humanly good or anything like the epitome of all 
the feminine virtues that her admirers have made her 
out to be. She takes a rather stuj)id pride in her blunt- 
ness and she has not yet learned that tlie truth may be 
so baldly spoken as to make the effect of a lie. In this 
she is like Kent. But what can be said in extenuation ? 

5. Is Kent arguing, in 123^., for Cordelia's good or for 
Lear's ? 

6. Is there in Lear's treatment of Kent any partial rea- 
son or justification for the later treatment of Lear by 
Goneril and Regan ? 

7. Why does Kent accept so calmly the sentence laid upon 
him by the abdicating king ? Why does he not appeal 
to the new powers of the realm ? 

8. What is the attitude of Goneril and Regan toward 
Lear exhibited at the end of the scene? In what ways 
are they really superior to him ? 

1,2. 

1. Has Edmund's soliloquy the ring of sincerity ? Does 
he probe to the rock bottom of his motives ? Compare 
the motive-hunting soliloquies of lago. 

2. Comment upon the ease with which Gloucester is de- 
ceived. 

3. What is the dramatic value of Gloucester's superstition 
and of Edmund's disgust at it ? 

1,4. 

1. What is the fool's attitude toward Cordelia, as indi- 
cated in this scene? In what relation does he stand 



KING LEAR 161 

to Lear's own heart and thought ? Why does he speak 
so constantly of Cordelia ? 
2. What inference do you draw from 295-296 and 312 ? 
Also from the words between Albany and Goneril at 
the end of the scene ? 

1,5. 

1. What is the motive of the fool's talk in this scene ? 

2. Find indications in Act I that Shakespeare thought of 
Lear as a pagan. What is the approximate date of the 
action ? What, presumably, was Lear's religion ? Do 
these matters in any way influence the poetic effect of 
the play ? Is the play so largely symbolical and poetic 
as to be independent of time or place ? 

3. What is your feeling toward Lear at the end of Act I ? 
What is the great lesson he has to learn ? 

II, 1. 

1. Does the credulity of PMgar and Gloucester seem prob- 
able? 

2. What qualities of Edmund's mind and character win 
him success here ? 

3. How does this scene illustrate the saying that " the 
children of darkness are wiser in their generation than 
the children of light " ? 

4. Why does Edgar display so much less quickness of wit 
here than he shows later in the play ? 

5. Show in detail that Shakespeare is entirely fair to Ed- 
mund, as he has been to the wicked sisters and as he is 
with even lago, revealing the good with the bad. What 
admirable intellectual qualities, lacking in Edgar, re- 
lieve to some extent his moral baseless ? 

6. Do you think Gloucester's feeling adequate, at what he 
considers the villainy and treachery of Edgar ? Have 
we been prepared for this emotional shallowness on his 
part? 

7. Why was it dramatically necessary that the sorrow 
and anger of Gloucester should be somewhat wan and 
weak? 



162 KING LEAR 

8. What parallelism do you find, up to and including the 
present scene, between the stories of Gloucester and 
Lear ? 

9. Explain the exact meaning of " natural " in 1. 86 and 
of " from " in 1. 126. 

10. Why has Regan gone to visit Gloucester ? 

11,2. 

1. How does Kent betray his birth and breeding in the 
quarrel with Oswald ? 

2. Does Kent's conduct in this quarrel increase your con- 
fidence in his ability to serve Lear skillfully as well as 
faithfully? Why? 

3. Do lOlb-106 seem a just and apt characterization of 
Kent in both his strength and his weakness ? How 
closely do they apply to Cordelia ? Does the poet ex- 
pect us to sympathize wholly with either of these two, 
or is this " saucy roughness " treated as an ugly fault 
which defeats its own ends ? Note that it is a fault of 
manner only, but that it plays quite as important a part 
in precipitating the tragedy as does the moral turpitude 
of the sisters and of Edmund. Faults of manner are 
usually less easily forgiven than moral baseness. Kent 
and Cordelia suggest a reason. 

11,4. 

1. Comment closely upon the function of the fool through- 
out this scene. 

2. Find evidences of increasing patience in Lear. 

3. What evidence do you find that Lear has not yet 
learned the great lesson that love is not to be tested by 
external things ? 

4. Outline the steady increase in emotional intensity 
throughout the scene. 

5. What is the significance of the stage direction, " Storm 
and tempest," at 1. 286 ? How long does the storm con- 
tinue ? What part of the action of the play elapses 
during the continuance of the storm ? What is the sym- 
bolic purpose ? 



KING LEAR 163 

III, 1. 

1. Compare 1. 3 with I, 1, 183. Inference as to Kent's 
attitude toward Lear ? 

2. Point out, in 4-15, words that give a key to the mean- 
ing of the storm scenes generally. 

3. Do you find an inconsistency, or at least a straining, in 
the time scheme in Kent's announcement of the land- 
ing of the French at Dover under Cordelia ? Compare 

I, 4, 317. If there seems to be a double time scheme, 
explain its purpose and necessity. Compare Othello. 

4. Why does the gentleman desire further talk with 
Kent? 

5. Is Kent's direction, 52-55, followed out later? 

Ill, 2. 

1. How do the fool's speeches in the first 36 lines bear 
upon Lear's condition of mind and the causes of that 
condition ? 

2. Is this mere cruelty on the fool's part ? Is there any 
doubt of the fool's affection for the king or of his de- 
sire to serve him as best he can ? What effect have his 
words upon the king ? 

3. Does the constant presence of the fool with Lear during 
the storm scenes add in any way to the pathos of the 
situation ? 

4. Point out one line of intense pathos in the first 36 lines. 
What is the cause of this pathos ? Has this note been 
struck before in Lear's speeches ? 

*5. Characterize the speeches of Lear in this scene, espe- 
cially as to power of poetic expression, imagination, 
intensity. Compare them closely with his speeches in 

II, 4, which are equally admirable in another way. 
It is important to remember that the great dramatic 
poet speaks not with one but with many voices. Each 
of Shakespeare's major characters has a style of his 
own. Compare Lear, in this matter of poetic power, 
with Romeo, Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth, Coriolanus. 
Each of these is a consummate master of speech, but 



164 KING LEAR 

each one voices his genius in a style peculiar to him- 
self. Differentiate these styles as precisely as possible. 

6. Count the references to the storm in this scene. Note 
especially 42-49. If the play had been written for the 
modern stage, would there need to be so many ? Why ? 

7. How well and how long does Lear keep the resolve, 
evidently sincere, made in 1. 37 ? Is he really learning 
patience ? What does he mean by, " I will say noth- 
ing " ? 

8. Is there evidence of radical change in Lear in the 
speech beginning with 1. 49 and in the next speech of 
his ? Compare also III, 4, 28 ff. 

9. After reading as far as 1. 59, re-read, from the begin- 
ning of the scene, all of Lear's speeches, consecutively. 
Do you find a logical continuity of thought ? Do his 
second and third speeches seem in any way dependent 
upon the intervening words of Kent and the fool, or is 
he self-absorbed ? 

10. What is the connection of 59b-60a with what pre- 
cedes ? 

11. The song that closes Twelfth Night has been denied 
to Shakespeare. Compare the song of the fool, 74 ff. 
Is this conclusive either way ? 

12. Does the fool's "prophecy" fit the situation in any 
way? 

Ill, 3. 

1. What motives actuate Gloucester in siding with Lear ? 

Ill, 4. 

1. What defects are there in the storm scenes as designed 
for stage presentation ? Do these defects obtain equally 
for the reader ? 

2. Visualize and describe the scene before the hovel. 

3. Compare 19^. with III, 2, 37. 

4. Lines 28-36 are among the sublimest things in Shake- 
speare. Memorize them and be able to interpret each 
shade of meaning and emotion in reciting them. 

5. Note that Lear thinks this speech a prayer. Why ? 



KING LEAR 165 

Is it really so in any sense ? Why does he think he 
can sleep after it ? What radical spiritual change has 
he undergone ? 

6. What accident mades sleep impossible and so drags 
Lear over the brink into madness ? What is the im- 
mediate cause of his madness ? What bearing has 
this upon the interweaving of the two plots that com- 
pose the play ? 

7. Where do you find the first certain signs that Lear is 
mad ? 

8. Characterize the three kinds of insanity presented in 
this scene. 

9. It has been fairly well established that exhibitions of 
simulated insanity were received by Elizabethan audi- 
ences as comic material. Do you think Shakespeare 
intended this scene to be so received in even the 
slightest degree, or did he wish to make an effect of 
unrelieved pathos and tragedy ? 

*10. Compare Lear's speech, 105 ff., with what you know 
or can learn of Carlyle's " Philosophy of Clothes " 
expounded in Sartor Resartus. 

11. Express in your own words what Lear means by 
" unaccommodated man." 

12. What is the dramatic and ethical fitness in the fact 
that this discovery about " unaccommodated man " is 
made by Lear ? How is it in harmony with the medi- 
aeval idea of tragedy ? Compare The Canterbury 
Tales, Group B, 11. 3163-67. 

13. When did Kent speak the words ascribed to him by 
Gloucester in 168-169 ? 

14. Explain the substitution of " British " f or " English " 
in 1. 189. 

15. In how far does the tragedy of Gloucester parallel 
that of Lear in this scene ? 

16. How is Gloucester's reaction like Lear's ? How unlike? 

Ill, 5. 
1. Cornwall may be said to be only protecting his own 
interests in his persecution of Gloucester, whom he 



166 KING LEAR 

thinks a traitor. But how is his action made perfectly 
dastardly in the first line of the scene ? 

Ill, 6. 

1. Do 5-6 recall any of the words of Lear ? 

2. Explain 16-17. Compare IV, 6, 190-191. 

3. Read consecutively all the speeches of Lear in this 
scene. Have they any relation to what is said to him 
or done about him ? Are they logical and connected in 
themselves ? How much of Lear's insanity might be ex- 
plained as intense and extreme self-absorption and pre- 
occupation with his own troubles? 

4. Comment fully upon 1. 92, the last words spoken by the 
fool in the play. What is their real meaning? What prob- 
ably becomes of the fool ? What pathos do you feel in 
the fact that these are the first and the last words in 
which the fool speaks of himself ? 

5. What evidence is in favor of the view that the parts of 
Cordelia and the fool were originally designed for and 
taken by the same actor ? 

6. How should the part of the fool be acted after 1. 92? 

7. Some have thought that 109-122 were not written by 
Shakespeare. They are not in the First Folio. Do you 
see anything to support this opinion ? Could the words 
** he childed as I fathered " have been written by one 
who had not clearly in mind the parallels, contrasts, and 
interrelations of the two plots ? Do you find other lines 
and phrases that seem certainly Shakespeare's? What 
dramatic purpose do the lines serve ? 

Ill, 7. 

1. What people of the play are gathered at or near Glouces- 
ter's house at the opening of this scene ? 

2, What dramatic purpose does this gathering serve ? 
*3. By what movements and occurrences suggested in Acts 

I and II have they been so gathered ? Give details and 
line references. 
4. Have you a clear idea where the Duke of Albany's castle 
is? Cornwall's? Gloucester's? Lear's? Had Shake- 



KING LEAR 167 

speare? What is the poetic and symbolic value of this? 
Could Bunyan have given the geographical location of 
the City of Destruction? 

5. How is the effect of bustle and hurry secured at 
the opening of this scene ? Why is this effect desir- 
able? 

6. In what ways does Gloucester surprise you during the 
scene? 

7. What additional evidence do you find in this scene 
that the play is better suited for reading than for the 
stage? 

IV, 1. 

1. What important element of Edgar's character is re- 
vealed in 1-9? 

2. Why does not Edgar reveal his identity to his father 
during this scene? 

3. How does the spiritual experience of Gloucester, as re- 
vealed here, parallel that of Lear? Give line references. 
How is it different from Lear's? 

IV, 2. 

1. What striking instance of dramatic irony do you find 
in this scene ? 

2. With 46-50 compare Troilus and Cressida, I, 3, 74- 
137, one of the greatest single speeches in Shakespeare 
and an amplification of Albany's thought. What is 
Albany's view of the whole situation? 

3. When and how does Albany's prophecy reach fulfill- 
ment ? 

4. What adverse criticism have you to make upon Albany's 
conduct in this scene? 

5. Comment upon 63b-67. Since Goneril has thrown off 
all the restraints of womanhood, is it anything more than 
sentimental folly to grant her those exemptions and 
prerogatives which should be granted only to true 
women ? 

6. Does Albany carry out the revenge mentioned in 
1. 97? 



16a KING LEAR 

7. On the whole, does Albany seem the ideal man to re- 
store order and " sustain the gored state " after the death 
of Lear ? 

IV, 3. 

1. Why was it dramatically expedient that the King of 
France should not accompany Cordelia ? May it be that 
Shakespeare consulted the patriotic feelings of his audi- 
ence here ? 

2. Why did Cordelia smile at all, as reported in ISff. ? 

3. What is Kent's "dear cause," mentioned in 1. 53? 

IV, 4. 

1. Why does the poet make Cordelia so explicit in justi- 
fying her invasion? 

IV, 6. 

1. Comment upon the stage effectiveness of 1-80. 

2. Why is the pathos of this passage constantly in danger 
of passing into farce ? By what means is it sustained 
and saved ? 

3. Cite passages of astonishing descriptive power. Note that 
Shakespeare, like Edgar, had learned to describe things 
vividly simply because the things themselves were not 
there. Why is Merchant of Venice, V, 1, 54-65, so ex- 
cellent an example of this ? 

4. Comment closely upon the nature of Lear's thought in 
83-191. 

5. Find as many allusions to the lower animals as possible 
here and in the rest of the play. What is the value of 
this for the imagination ? What line of thought led Lear, 
or rather, the poet, into it? 

6. Explain the change in Gloucester made evident in 
221 #. 

7. What dramatic purpose is served by Edgar's preserva- 
tion of his disguise in 225^. ? 

IV, 7. 
1. With 1. 59b and following, compare III, 2, 19b-20. 



KING LEAR 169 

What is the source or cause of the pathos ? 
2. Comment upon Cordelia's speeches made after her 
father awakes. 



V,l. 



1. Explain 34-37. 



V,3. 

1. Comment upon 16-17a with regard to Shakespeare's 
attitude toward the whole meaning and upshot of the 
play. 

2. What is the source of the pathos in Lear's speeclies, 
8-25 ? It will probably be found that here, as often, 
pathos is due to a strong contrast between two ideas, 
one sub-conscious and the other expressed. The more 
the speaker neglects the former and stresses the latter, 
the more powerful is the resulting pathos. Greek tragedy 
affords many examples. Line 274 below is a supreme 
instance. 

3. Enumerate all important contrasts between Lear's posi- 
tion and state of mind and heart in this scene and those 
in which he was presented in I, 1. Such contrasts, deal- 
ing in the more external and obvious way with the falls 
of princes, constituted for Shakespeare's audience the 
very essence and fornmla of tragedy. But it is most 
important to notice that the poet, while adhering to the 
formula and meeting his audience on its own ground, 
deepens, enriches, humanizes that formula almost be- 
yond recognition. 

4. With 30b-32a compare Napoleon Bonaparte's maxim : 
" The human heart is an enlarged vein which throbs 
more rapidly when one runs uphill." 

5. Explain 73-74a. Compare 11. 96, 223-227, and V, 1, 
34-37. 

6. The critics who read their Shakespeare as a thesaurus 
of " wise saws and modern instances " have made much 
of 170-174, taking them as containing the " moral " 
which the poet wishes us to draw from the j^lay. But 
note that this play is not a tragedy because people die 



170 KING LEAR 

in it or because wickedness is punished, but because it 
states with godhke power and demoniac irony an enigma 
to which there is no answer. It tells us only that God 
sends his rain upon the just and the unjust alike. To 
miss this jioint is to miss all the deeper meaning of the 
drama and to miss the difference between art and 
homiletics. Compare this passage with IV, 1, 38-39a. 

7. How is Edmund's delay in reprieving Lear and Cor- 
delia made to seem natural ? Note the absorbing inter- 
est of the events and the narrative intervening between 
his fight with Edgar and 242-246. 

8. What tragic accident in Rojneo and Juliet does this 
fatal delay of Edmund's recall ? How does it heighten 
suspense ? Note that the outcome, for the persons with 
whom we most deeply sympathize, might have been, 
but for this accident, supremely happy. 

9. How has V, 2, led us to hope, for an instant, for a 
happy conclusion ? By what other means has the poet 
given us " light at eventide," just before the final 
plunge into night ? 

10. How does this accident illustrate IV, 1, 38-39a ? Do 
you think the poet planned the repentance of Edmund 
simply to make possible this final sardonic effect ? 

11. What is the irony in the close juxtaposition of 1. 256a 
and the entrance of Lear ? 

12. In how many ways is Lear's majestic power, — phys- 
ical, emotional, and intellectual, shown in 257-311 ? 
How and why does our sense of this power intensify 
our pity and heighten the effect of his death ? Con- 
sidering the king's great age, his exhausted condition, 
the trials he has just come through, the contrast with 
his great joy in V, 2, line 274, may well be regarded as 
the most intolerably pathetic line in the world's litera- 
ture. Note that the captain's corroboration is added, 
so that we may not think Lear is boasting idly. But his 
killing of the hangman was the last flicker of the old 
fire. He falls immediately into childish babble. 

13. How has Lear come to know so well that a voice soft, 
gentle, and low is " an excellent thing in woman " ? 



KING LEAR 171 

14. The moral mongers may agree that Lear deserved his 
fate, but what is to be said of Kent, the faithful, sinless, 
and self-forgetful, who sees all his noblest purposes 
brought to nought and who is barely recognized by the 
master for whom he dies ? 

15. For how long after 1. 276 does Lear apparently forget 
Cordelia ? To whom does " poor fool " refer in 1. 305 ? 

16. The beauty and daring of 1. 309 have been frequently 
praised. Why ? But the preceding line is at least 
equally daring and equally inspired. Note the uner- 
ring instinct — or was it memory only ? — with which 
the poet cuts to the very heart of all bereavement. 

17. Note the length of the words in 305-311a. From what 
language are they derived ? Latin ? French ? Old Eng- 
lish ? Lear has called himself " every inch a king " and 
his command of noble speech has never belied him, but 
here he is, rather, every inch a man. 

18. In the first scene of the play Lear takes a foolish pleas- 
ure in a false and simulated love. In the last scene, what? 
Lear's lesson is learned now. Where and how will he 
and Cordelia profit by that which has cost them both 
so much ? The sense of waste is always a large element 
in tragic effect. Note that Shakespeare does not appeal 
to a belief in an after life for an answer to these ques- 
tions. 

19. What appears to be the immediate cause of Lear's 
death ? Should 310-311 a be spoken in sorrow or in an 
agony of joy ? 

20. With 312b-315a compare 184b-186a and comment 
upon the characterization of Edgar and Kent, youth 
and age. 

21. Note that in 317-320 Albany abdicates his legal rights. 
Why? In all Shakespeare's tragedies some basis of 
future order is left. In Hamlet^ Fortinbras. In Macbeth^ 
Malcom. What here? Has this basis been proved to 
be sufficient? 

22. With 321-322 compare 207-221 and 234b-236a. In- 
ference ? 



MACBETH 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. Outline the action briefly. Why is it, on the whole, so 
simple and straightforward ? Why so swift ? Try to ex- 
plain these features with reference to the character of 
the hero. Compare Hamlet in these regards. 

2. Is the murder of Duncan the climax of the action ? 
Why is it placed so early in the play ? 

*^. By what qualities does the hero command our admira- 
tion ? To what degree and how long does he hold our 
sympathy also ? Why is this necessary ? Compare the 
sympathy and admiration elicited by Macbeth with that 
won and held by Romeo, Hamlet, Lear, Othello, Bru- 
tus, Coriolanus. 
4. Should the play be considered any more a Tragedy of 
Macbeth than a Tragedy of Lady Macbeth. Why ? 

*5. Shakespeare's Tragic Muse gives no quarter to the in- 
complete, onesided man — the man who uses only part 
of his faculties. This is true of pitiless Nature also, and 
of the remorseless, passionate world of war and intrigue 
in which the poet's great heroes all live. Our modern 
world has erected barriers between the puny, the unfit, 
the " specialist " and that swift destruction which would 
have been his even five centuries ago. Shakespeare's 
heroes are never weaklings, but they are unfit, each 
at some one point, and specialists at other points. In 
Shakespeare's world, perfected and rounded strength 
is the strong man's only salvation. If character is the 
end of life, it was a better world than the safer, more 
comfortable world of to-day. Shakespeare's tragedies 
make their effects of " pity and terror " by showing that 
strength which is not rounded and complete becomes 
its own destruction. " Strengths by strengths do fail.'* 



MACBETH 173 

Fate strikes unerringly at the one crevice in the hero's 
armor. How does this apply in the case of each of the 
tragic heroes mentioned in question 3 ? Show that in each 
case the failure is tragic and arouses pity because it is 
allied to strength. When allied to weakness it is ma- 
terial for comedy, as in Moliere. 

6. Trace the gradual decay of Macbeth's moral nature. Is 
there any similar change in Lady Macbeth ? 

7. Discuss the part played by supernatural agencies in 
suggesting, inciting, and determining Macbeth's actions. 

8. How and why does Lady Macbeth differ. from her hus- 
band in her attitude toward the supernatural ? What 
were the motives of her action ? 

9. Discuss the relative strength and nobility of Macbeth 
and his wife. 

10. What characters in the play progress and develop, 
either for better or worse ? What characters seem rela- 
tively static ? 

11. Compare Macbeth and his wife as to their relative fit- 
ness for plotting and for action. Contrast the two in 
other important respects. 

12. What touches of " local color " do you find ? Does the 
poet try to differentiate Scottish from English charac- 
ter? What part is played by landscape, climate, and 
weather in creating the general tone and atmosphere of 
the jDlay ? Do these differ importantly from what we 
should expect if the scene had been laid in England ? 
What evidence do you find within the play that Shake- 
speare had visited Scotland ? 

13. Discuss the style of the play, especially as regards com- 
pression, vigor, directness, and virility. 

14. Try to state the precise nature of the beauty of this 
play. It will be helpful to contrast it with A7itony 
and Cleopatra or Romeo and Juliet. What tragedy or 
tragedies seem to you most like it in general effect ? 
Answer such very general questions as this with all 
possible definiteness and precision. 



174 MACBETH 

DETAILED QUESTIONS 

1,1. 

1. What is the meter employed here ? Is it found else- 
where in the play? Compare Midsummer Nighfs 
Dream, II, 1, and The Tempest,\, 1, S^ff. For 
what sort of effect does Shakespeare use this meter ? 

2. Defend the substitution of "and " for "or" in 1. 2. 
How many questions are asked in the sentence as it 
stands ? Is there anything in the character and powers 
of the witches that suj^ports the reading " or " ? Is 
there a hint that they intend to create or produce the 
weather in which they are to meet ? Can you suggest 
any other clarifying emendation ? 

3. Comment upon the effect of the change of meter in 1. 12. 

4. Does this scene announce the key-note of the entire 
drama? What is the effect produced by it? Discuss 
the reasons for introducing the witches in the opening 
lines. 

1,2. 

1. Is it made clear in this scene what the fighting is 
about ? Is it necessary that we should know ? 

2. What does the scene accomplish in the way of expo- 
sition and characterization ? 

1,3. 

1. Is there any means of determining the length of time 
that elapses between the action of Scene 1 and that of 
the present scene ? 

2. What does the first witch propose to do to the Tiger ? 
With 1. 9 compare 24-25. 

3. With 1. 38 compare I, 1, 11. 

4. Answer the question put by.Banquo in 51-52. Com' 
pare 1. 139. 

5. Why does Banquo see nothing to start at in the witches' 
prophecy? 

6. With 1. 46 compare Merry Wives, IV, 2, 202-205. 



MACBETH 175 

7. Carefully define the thought and feeling that actuate 
Macbeth in 1. 86. Compare 118-120. 

8. Estimate carefully the character and present mood of 
Macbeth as presented in this scene alone. Of Banquo. 

9. What do Macbeth's associates think of him? Are they 
deceived ? 

10. What is your own theory as to the influence of the 
witches upon Macbeth? Is it a determining influence ? 
Does it initiate a train of thought in his mind which 
leads to his later action? 

11. How does the confirmation of a part of the witches' 
prophecy affect the mind of the hero? See 1.105^. 

12. How does tliis scene advance the action ? 

13. Do you agree with the statement in 137-138? What 
trait of character is revealed here ? 

1,4. 

1. What is the dramatic irony in llb-14a ? Show that 
Shakespeare valued these lines more for their bearing 
on future events than for their application to the case 
of Cawdor. This is a good illustration of his exceed- 
ingly careful workmanship in this play. 

2. How does the announcement in 35-39 affect Macbeth 
and, through him, the action of the entire play? See 
48 #.^ 

3. What impression have you of the character of Duncan ? 
The character seems to have been devised to meet the 
exigencies of the plot. How does it do so ? With what 
character is Duncan's character in strong contrast ? 

1,5. 

1. When was this letter written, and when did Macbeth 
gain the knowledge referred to in 2-3? What is indi- 
cated by the fact that he has inquired about the witches? 
Where can he have applied for testimonials as to their 
powers ? 

2. Is the observation in 1. 18 true to the facts of Macbeth's 
character as they have been represented ? Is there a 
double characterization in this line ? 



176 MACBETH 

3. Name three different kinds or phases of dramatic value 
in 16-31. 

4. How do the soliloquies of Lady Macbeth differ from 
those of her husband ? 

5. State carefully the relations between husband and wife 
shown in 55-74. 

1,6. 

1. What is the value of the descriptive passage, 1-10? 
Here, as so frequently in Elizabethan drama, descrip- 
tion of landscape and the like have almost the value that 
stage carpentry and scene painting have for the modern 
drama. But there are otlier values here. What is indi- 
cated in these lines about the mood of the speakers ? 
How does this mood contrast with that of Macbeth and 
his wife ? Is there even a tinge of dramatic irony in the 
passage ? 

1,7. 

1. State precisely what considerations cause Macbeth to 
hesitate, judging from 1-12. 

2. Is he troubled by moral scruples in 12-24 ? 

3. Indicate three possible interpretations of "we fail," 
1. 59b. How do you think the actress should speak the 
two words ? 

11,1. 

1. With 1. 3 compare II, 3, 2^ff. At what hour do Mac- 
duff and Lenox enter in Scene 3 ? What, then, is the 
time of night at which this and tlie following scene occur? 

2. What is the mood of Banquo in 1-10 ? Does he suspect 
that evil is on foot ? Is he morally blameless ? 

3. What are the motives behind the speeches in 11-30 ? 

4. What action or " business " should intervene between 
the speaking of 1. 32 and that of 1. 33 ? 

5. Should the phantom dagger be presented in any way 
to the eyes of the spectators in stage performance ? 
Discuss fully. 

6. What convinces Macbeth that the dagger is not real ? 



MACBETH 177 

What special power of his mind is indicated in his ability 
to criticize his own sensations ? 

7. Enumerate the elements of horror and fear accumulated 
in the second half of Macbeth's soliloquy. How is 1. 61 
highly characteristic of the speaker ? 

8. AVhat are the main divisions of this scene ? 

11,2. 

1. What is the inference from 1-2 ? Just what is it that 
Lady Macbeth really fears in 10-11 ? 

2. Comment upon 13b-14. Does this sentence show a trait 
of character which Macbeth does not share ? How is 
this trait shown later ? 

*3. Would the presentation of the murder on the stage have 
added to or detracted from the terror of this scene ? 
Compare with Greek tragedy. French critics, with 
Greek models in mind, have considered English tragedy 
very bloody, and Shakespeare does not hesitate in other 
plays, or even in the present one, from presenting scenes 
of violence and horror. Do you consider the murder of 
Duncan what the French call a scene a faire — a piece 
of action that should be shown on the stage ? 
4. What is the nature of Macbeth's fear in the remainder 
of the scene ? How and why has he changed since II, 1? 
Does he seem to be so much in command of himself 
and of the situation as he was earlier ? Relate this to 
his character as previously shown. 

*5. Contrast Macbeth's emotional state with that of his 
wife. What is the secret of her comparative calm ? 
Who is responsible for the murder ? On this point, see, 
if possible, Corson's Introduction to Shakespeare, 
pp. 246-251. 
6. With 51-52 compare I, 4, 52b-53. With 64-65 com- 
pare V, 1, 30-39. Explain. 

*7. Study and comment upon De Quincey's essay On the 
Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth. It is to be found 
in the Furness Variorum and the First Folio edition 
and in De Quincey's Works. Compare Othello, V, 2, 
83#. 



178 MACBETH 

II, 3. 

1. What two purposes are served by the scene of the 
drunken porter? Why is the scene written in prose? 
What is the effectiveness of his likening himself to the 
porter of hell gate ? 

2. Does Macbeth act his part well before Macduff and 
Lennox ? Has there been another change in him ? 

3. Comment upon the murder of the grooms. Was it 
wisely done ? Does it show that Macbeth has already 
outstripped his wife in crime ? What further evidence 
is there of this ? 

4. Does Lady Macbeth fail, in a measure, in this scene ? 
Is her fainting real or feigned ? 

5. What mistake is made by Malcolm and Donalbain ? 

11,4. 

*1. What is gained by the introduction of the Old Man ? 

Compare Richard II, III, 4, the mob scenes in Julius 

Ccesar and Coriolanus and the common people in 

Romeo and Juliet. 
*2. Comment upon the use of symbols in 11-20. See also 

II, 3, 57-66a. Compare with the use of symbols in 

Ibsen's later plays and in Maeterlinck. Is there any 

special significance in 1. 18b ? 
3. State carefully the mood of Macduff. Are his suspicions 

aroused ? 

Ill, 1. 

1. What three important purposes are served by Banquo's 

speech ? 

2. Do you see any special significance in 1. 23 ? 

3. With 55-57 compare Antony and Cleopatra, II, 3, 
18-22. Does this indicate that the plays were written 
at about the same time ? 

^4. What is the etymology and history of the word " genius," 
1.56? 

5. Paraphrase 75b-84a, 116-118a, 128-133. 

6. Does the style of these speeches seem in keeping with 



MACBETH 179 

the station in life of those addressed and with Macbeth's 
purpose ? Does Macbeth show himself an efficient and 
resourceful man in his treatment of the murderers ? 

Ill, 2. 

1. Can you answer the question asked in 1. Sff.? 

2. What sort of emotion raises Macbeth to imaginative 
and poetic speech ? 

3. What change has come about in the relations of hus- 
band and wife ? Give line references, citing comparisons 
from earlier scenes. 

Ill, 3. 

1. Support the view that Macbeth himself is the third 
murderer. Compare III, 4, 17-18. 

2. Explain 11-14 by reference to the exigencies of Eliza- 
bethan staging. 

3. For what reasons may this scene be considered the 
climax of the play ? 

Ill, 4. 

1. Explain 1. 14. Is it grammatically correct ? 

2. Paraphrase 33-37. 

3. Comment upon any incongruities you find in the han- 
dling of the ghost's appearances. Note that the ghost is 
seen by the spectators as well as by Macbeth, but not 
by those about the table. Compare Hamlet, III, 4. 
How does this bear upon question 5 in II, 1 ? 

4. Upon whom does the irony of 1. 41 recoil ? 

5. Make suggestions for the acting of 46-50. 

*6. What is the etymology and history of the word " pas- 
sion," 1. 57 ? 

7. Has Lady Macbeth lost her influence over her husband ? 
Explain. 

8. What seems to be the immediate cause of the ghost's 
second entrance? Is this true also of the first en- 
trance ? 

9. Is there any analogy between these appearances and 
the first appearance of the Weird Sisters ? 



180 MACBETH 

10. Consider the suggestion that one of the ghosts in this 
scene may be that of Duncan. 

11. Does Macbeth tell the truth in 99-106 ? Could he face 
without flinching almost any terrors except those which 
he is called upon to face ? 

12. Paraphrase 112b-113. 

13. In what state of mind do you imagine the guests as 
leaving the palace? 

14. What important revelations of a change in Mac- 
beth are given toward the end of the scene ? What 
radical change in his relations with his wife do you 
discover ? 

Ill, 5. 

1. After comparison of this scene with the earlier witch 
scenes, what reasons do you find for the common ascrip- 
tion of these lines to some writer — probably Middleton 
— other than Shakespeare? 

2. Comment upon the verse of this scene. 

3. Is there an inconsistency between 15-17 and the gen- 
eral spirit of the play? 

4. What is the meaning of '' security " in 1. 32. Compare 
Hamlet, I, 5, 61. 

5. How and why do the witches change in attitude toward 
Macbeth ? Does this indicate a corresponding change 
in his fortunes generally ? 

6. Judging from 32-33, how do the witches intend to carry 
out their purposes ? 

III, 6. 

1. Compare this scene with II, 4. What is its purpose? 
Compare the manner of Macduff in II, 4, with that of 
Lennox in the present scene. 

2. What dramatic purpose is served by Lennox's ironical 
recital of Macbeth's crimes? 

IV, 1. 

1. Do you think 39-43 were not written by Shakespeare? 
Why? 



MACBETH 181 

2. What later developments of the tragedy are fore- 
shadowed by the three apparitions? 

3. How do the words spoken by the apparitions bear upon 
III, 5, 32-33 ? 

4. Are there signs that 125-132 are an interpolation ? 
Note that, like 39-43, their chief purpose is to serve as 
introduction to a dance and music. Do these things, and 
more especially the song " Black Spirits," — which 
Shakespeare did not write, — harmonize perfectly with 
the tone of the play in general? Does it seem that some 
one has tried to make over the somber tragedy into 
something more like a masque ? 

5. Learn from any annotated edition of the play the full 
meaning of 1. 121. Show that this line was designed to 
appeal in a special manner to the poet's English audi- 
ence. What bearing has this line upon the theory that 
the play was written to celebrate the accession of King 
James I of England, or at least with the intention of 
pleasing him? 

6. What two original weaknesses of Macbeth's charac- 
ter are shown by 144-154 to have been increased by his 
recent experiences? 

7. Has your admiration for Macbeth been sustained, in 
any measure, up to the present point? Does it end 
here? 

8. Enumerate the forces now at work against Macbeth. 

IV, 2. 

1. What purpose is served by the dialogue between Lady 
Macduff and her son? In what ways does the dialogue 
fail to satisfy and please? 

2. Do you think the violence of this scene should have 
been shown rather than merely reported? Is there any 
reason why it had to be shown? Compare the murder 
of Duncan. 

3. How does the slaughter of Macduff's household differ 
from the previous crimes of Macbeth? What change in 
his character does it indicate ? What is its effect? 



182 MACBETH 

IV, 3. 

1. Why does Malcolm distrust Macduff? Compare 1. 25 
and 117-118. 

2. Why does Malcolm accuse himself of imaginary wicked- 
ness? Is he entirely insincere? Compare Hamlet, III, 

I, 123-133. 

3. How does Macduff receive the several self-accusations 
of Malcolm ? 

4. How does the episode dealing with the " king's evil " 
— 140-159 — provide contrast with the state of affairs 
in Scotland? Is this a good way to flatter and compli- 
ment the new Scotch king of England ? Is there any 
other reason for the introduction here of such apparently 
irrelevant material ? 

5. What is the finest line spoken by Macduff after learn- 
ing of his sorrow? Compare Julius Ccesar, IV, 3, 

149 #. 

6. Do you think it was well done to postpone the careful 
delineation of Malcolm and Macduff until so late in the 
play? Has anything been gained by this? 

V,l. 

1. How many scenes have passed since Lady Macbeth last 
appeared? What does this indicate? 

2. What did Lady Macbeth probably write on the paper 
which she later sealed? 

3. Explain " throw her nightgown upon her." Compare 

II, 2, 70. 

4. With 1. 39 jf. compare II, 2, 67. 

5. Connect Lady Macbeth's words, from 1. 47 on, with 
previous occurrences. 

6. What do you find particularly effective in 56-58? 

V, 2. 

1. What is the purpose of this scene? 

2. Why did Shakespeare feel free in this play to depict 
so favorably a revolt against a sovereign? In Bichard 
II it had to be done more carefully. 



MACBETH 183 

V,3. 

1. Carefully describe Macbeth's mood In this scene. 

2. What is the effect of the passages of philosophical re- 
flection ? Do they seem in character ? 

3. By what means does the poet soften the picture of 
Macbeth's moral and spiritual degradation ? 

4. What passages of pure and high poetry do you find in 
this scene ? 

V,4. 

1. Paraphrase 14b-16a. 

V,5. 

1. To whom does Macbeth speak in 9-15a and 17-28 ? 
What are the possible meanings of *' should " in 1. 17 ? 
Wliich seems the most likely one ? 

2. Memorize 17-28. 

3. How are Macbeth's moral degradation and his increas- 
ing reliance upon the supernatural emphasized in this 
scene ? 

V, 6 and 7. 

1. What would be the effect of these scenes upon a stage 
such as that at the Globe Theater ? 

V,8. 

1. Does Shakespeare wish us to suppose that Macbeth was 
overcome because of the fact reported in 13b-16a or 
because of his knowledge of that fact and the influence 
of that knowledge upon him ? How is this shown ? 
What part is played by Macbeth's superstition in bring- 
ing about his death ? 

2. Show that the immediate causes of Macbeth's death 
are in close relation to important events of his life. 

3. How are the closing events of the play knitted to the 
future ? Compare the last scenes of Hamlet and King 
Lear. 



COEIOLANUS 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. Outline the plot. How many actions or stories do you 
find ? Point out several instances of economy in inci- 
dent and in dramatis joersonce. For an example of the 
former, see V, 1. Do you find a case of the latter in 
Menenius and the tribunes ? 

2. State the function of each act in the development of 
the character of the hero and his fortunes. 

3. State carefully your attitude toward the hero at the 
end of Act I, under the following heads : Is his char- 
acter one of tragic grandeur ? Have your sympathy for 
him and admiration of him been enlisted sufficiently to 
insure tragic " pity and terror " at sight of his fall ? If 
so, by what means ? Wherein has the poet come dan- 
gerously near to forfeiting this sympathy for his hero ? 

*4. What dangers foreshadowing a tragic conclusion are 
clearly indicated in Act I ? Are these dangers chiefly 
within or chiefly without the mind and character of the 
hero ? Is this latter feature characteristic of modern 
as opposed to ancient tragedy ? Why ? 

5. Show, if possible, that the ruin of Coriolanus is brought 
on by a fault that is inherent in his nobility — a " de- 
fect of his qualities." Shov/ that he is tried and that he 
fails at just the one point in which he is weak. How 
much of our pity and sense of tragic waste is due to 
the fact that his weakness is made to seem almost a 
necessary part of the unquestionable nobility for which 
we honor him ? 

6. What fundamental motive for Coriolanus's ardent serv- 
ice of his country is revealed in the last two acts ? Is 
this the highest possible motive ? 

7. Comment upon IV, 7, 35-55, item by item, as a treat- 



CORIOLANUS 185 

ment In full of the character and fortunes of the hero 
and therefore of the theme of the play. Does this passage 
seem to express the poet's own attitude and judgment ? 

8. Who is the most powerful person in the play — the one 
who really controls destiny and shapes his own life ? 
Can this be said of the hero ? In what sense is Corio- 
lanus a hero ? Romain Rolland has said : " No man is 
strong from reason, but from j^assion." Do you know 
of any exception to this among Shakespeare's heroes ? 
Does Coriolanus's weakness as well as his strength pro- 
ceed from passion rather than reason ? 

9. In what respects does this great play seem the product 
of a mood of somber, misanthropic pessimism ? 

10. Do you find evidence that Shakespeare takes sides be- 
tween the aristocrats and the plebs ? What is the test- 
imony of this play in regard to the question of the 
poet's anti-democratic sympathies ? Compare the play, 
in this aspect of it, with Julius Ccesar. Does the play 
deal in an argumentative and propagandist spirit with 
political theories, or is it primarily a study of egoism ? 

11. Try to express in a few words the total effect of the 
play upon you. In what respects does it take very high 
rank among the poet's achievements ? Why must it be 
ranked, after all, somewhat lower than his greatest 
tragedies ? What other play or plays does it most re- 
semble in structure ? In theme ? In total effect ? 

12. If this play were now first discovered, by what means 
would you try to establish the date of its composition 
and its position among the poet's works ? Could you 
show that it must be a late play but yet not the latest ? 
How ? Does it betray any signs of declining power ? 



DETAILED QUESTIONS 

1,1. 

1. What is the dramatic purpose of 1-50 ? 

2. Is Menenius successful in 56-167 ? Does he deserve 
success ? 



186 CORIOLANUS 

3. What can be said in favor of the citizens in this 
scene ? What against them ? It should be remembered 
throughout the play that Shakespeare lived long before 
the age of Liberalism and of Socialism, that he is not 
discussing social theories but is writing a tragedy deal- 
ing with the ruin of a great individual, and finally, that 
his treatment of the mob, here and everywhere, was 
largely dictated by the necessity of providing a suitable 
background for the hero. 

*4. Do you think Tolstoy's ideal of a drama in which the 
masses take the place of the hero — the highly-gifted, 
highly-privileged individual — is capable of realization ? 
See Tolstoy's What Is Art "^ Does it seem that tragedy 
is committed by its very nature to the "great man" 
theory of society and history ? What modern writers 
have attempted a drama in which demos takes the place 
of the supreme individual ? Have they succeeded ? 
Diderot is a good example and initiates the movement. 
Remembering that Shakespeare's choice of kings and 
men in high position for his heroes, while it is not ac- 
cidental, is not essential to his theory, state whether 
you consider Ibsen and his followers good exponents 
of the democratic theory of drama. 
5. Is it clear from the present scene that Shakespeare 
himself scorns the common people, or do we gain this 
impression only from the polite contempt of Menenius 
and the scathing denunciations of Coriolanus ? 

*6. Summarize the main points made in Coriolanus's dia- 
tribe, 171-192. How much of this proves true later ? 
Find similar passages in Richard II and Julius Caesar. 

7. What mistakes do the tribunes make in their estimate 
of Coriolanus ? Why ? 

8. What exposition in this scene ? What notes of danger 
are clearly struck ? How is suspense secured ? Give 
reasons for considering this an excellent first scene. 

1,2. 
1. What is the purpose of this scene ? What part of scene 
1 does it continue ? 



CORIOLANUS 187 

1,3. 

1. What character contrasts are presented here ? Do they 
seem natural and convincing or somewhat forced ? Point 
out all the minor touches by which they are accentuated. 

2. Would you choose Volumnia or Virgilia for a mother ? 
Which for a wife ? Did Fate choose well for Coriolanus ? 

3. Is Volumnia intended as a typical Roman mother ? Note 
especially 20-27. Is her type less familiar to-day than 
in earlier ages ? What substitute for military glory is 
allowed to-day by mothers of this type ? 

4. Point out all the ways in which the characterization of 
Coriolanus is advanced in this scene, in which he does 
not appear. 

6. Virgilia is drawn with assured power and clear insight. 
Note her voluntary and useless martyrdom in remain- 
ing at home until her lord's return. She is firm — ob- 
stinate, rather — only in meaningless self-sacrifice. 
Why did Shakespeare provide the hero with such a 
wife? Is she " a helpmeet for him " ? 
6. What is the effect upon the tone of the entire play of 
this peaceful domestic scene, this quiet-toned genre 
picture? Note the subjects of conversation. 
*7. What possible symbolism in 62-71 ? Does Shakespeare 
make extensive use of hereditary traits in characteri- 
zation ? Why is this ? Compare Ibsen, Schnitzler, Su- 
dermann, or von Hoffmannsthal. 

I, 4 to 8. 

1. What sort of stage effect was intended in these scenes ? 
Why are they so short and the entrances and exits so 
frequent ? 

2. How does the poet attempt to conceal or atone for the 
poverty of his stage ? What double purpose is served 
by the single combat in Scene 8 ? 

1,9. 
1. Explain Coriolanus' s refusal of the booty and his dislike 
of extravagant praise. With the former, compare I, 



188 CORIOLANUS 

5, 5-9. Is the latter perfectly sincere ? If we are right 
in considering Coriolanus a supreme egoist, is it not 
difficult to explain his shrinking from eulogy ? Is he 
modest here ? 

2. What is the dramatic effect of the praise of Coriolanus 
by generals and soldiery ? Where is there a similar 
device used in Othello ? 

3. Comment upon the famous words, "By Jupiter, forgot." 
Show that they heighten the illusion of reality. Does 
Coriolanus elsewhere show a poor memory? Is this 
in keeping with the headlong impetuosity of his life ? 
Note that he sincerely wishes to repay the poor Vol- 
scian but yet has forgotten his name. Is he thinking of 
his benefactor, primarily, or of himself ? Is it clear that 
even the kindliness of Coriolanus is marred and tainted 
by what George Meredith calls " that old devil of the 
thousand lures," the passion of Self ? 

1,10. 

1. Why is Aufidius made to plot treachery against his 
rival ? Does this not unduly degrade the hero's enemy ? 
Does it serve to exalt Coriolanus in your eyes and add 
suspense ? 

2. What has been the poet's chief effort in his treatment 
of the hero in this act ? If you knew nothing of Corio- 
lanus but what is given in Act I, what would you say 
of him ? Why has the poet given as our first important 
impression a picture of Coriolanus in battle ? 

3. Besides the main theme of the act, there are several 
secondary themes that have a different bearing upon 
the hero's nature. What are they ? 

4. Are all the essential components of the play's action 
found, at least in the germ, in this act ? 

II, 1. 

1. Summarize briefly the opinion Menenius gives of him- 
self in 51-72. Is he sincere in these lines ? Are such 
men as Menenius especially given to confessions of this 
sort, — making virtues out of faults ? 



CORIOLANUS 189 

2. Show the contrast, item for item, between the opinion 
Menenius gives of himself and that which he gives of 
the tribunes in 74-106. 

3. Is Menenius here defending Coriolanus, himself, or the 
aristocratic point of view in government and society ? 

4. Does Menenius voice the poet's own view of the tribunes 
and their activities ? 

5. What is the purpose of 107-220 ? Is any new light 
thrown upon any of the characters ? 

6. Comment closely upon the exquisitely managed part of 
Virgilia. 

7. Show that there is double-edged characterization in 
1. 192a. 

8. What dramatic value have 240-247a ? What motive 
actuates the tribunes in their enmity towards the 
hero? 

9. Into what divisions does this scene fall? State the 
purpose of each. 

II, 2. 

1. Do you think the officers are better fitted than any 
previous speakers to give an unprejudiced view of tlie 
situation ? Do you think their speeches may be accepted 
as a sort of chorus, stating the truth as the poet wishes 
us to see it ? 

2. What is the motive of the speaker in 74b-75a and later 
in the scene ? 

3. What elements of suspense in this scene ? 

4. Why is Cominius's praise of the hero given just here ? 

11,3. 

1. What is the purpose and effect of 1-43 ? Where did 
the plan of action mentioned in 44-52 originate and 
what is its purpose ? 

2. Explain the use of rhyme in 120-131. Paraphrase 
124b-128a. 

3. How do the events of this scene illustrate 1, 1, 171^. ? 

4. In how much do you sympathize with the hero in this 



190 CORIOLANUS 

5. How does the second act contrast with the first in the 
picture it gives of the hero ? Explain differences. 

Ill, 1. 

1. Show that the hero is attacked on his weakest side in 
1-180. 

2. What dramatic irony in 107b-112a ? 

3. Discuss 1. 255. Does it tell the truth ? 

4. What excites Coriolanus's outbreak in the earlier part 
of the scene ? Compare III, 3, 25-30. Show that this 
cause continues in operation. What other tragic heroes 
of Shakespeare show the same weakness ? 

5. Paraphrase 140-161. 

6. Outline carefully the thought of 140-161. How much 
^ truth and wisdom do you find in these weighty lines ? 

Compare the great speech on " degree " in Troilus and 
Cressida, I, 3, 75-137. Does it seem probable that 
Shakespeare is expressing his own convictions in these 
speeches, considering the power and vigor with which 
they are written ? 

7. What has been the tribunes' plan of action? Has it been 
well executed ? Was it based upon a sufficiently clear 
knowledge of the hero's character ? 

8. Comment upon the rabble scenes here and later with 
regard not to their literary but to their theatrical merits. 

9. Account for the intensity and absorbing interest of this 
scene. 

Ill, 2. 

1. How do 7-13 soften our judgment against the hero ? 

2. Characterize briefly the counsel of Volumnia. What is 
the exact difference between her and her son ? Which 
seems nearer right ? Which shows greater knowledge 
of the world ? 

3. Is the nobler or the baser Coriolanus in the ascendant 
in this scene ? Note the immense power of his speeches 
near the end, indicating the rage which he struggles to 
master. What sort of man, according to the Bible, is 
" greater than he who taketh a city " ? 



CORIOLANUS 191 

4. Do we expect, at the end of this scene, that Coriolanus 
will be successful in his attempt to hoodwink the people ? 
Why ? Is this expectation of ours to his credit or not ? 

5. What suspense is created by the scene ? 

III, 3. 

1. Are the new accusations here prepared true or false? 
After 1-30, what chance does the hero appear to have? 
Does this passage destroy suspense or does it create 
a new interest, namely, an interest in the strong man's 
method of action now that he is securely taken in the 
toils ? 

2. Where is the climax of the play — the point at which 
the forces for and against the hero waver for a moment 
and then those against suddenly gain the ascendant ? 

3. Do you blame Coriolanus for his actions in this scene, 
or is it clear that he is now simply reaping the penalty 
of former mistakes, his control over fortune having at 
last slipped away from him ? 

4. Do the tribunes answer 42-43a? Why? 

5. With what earlier warning speech by Coriolanus should 
the titanic grandeur of 120-135 be compared? Is it 
conceivable that the poet could write these lines with- 
out profound sympathy for the point of view they 
present ? 

6. Judging from the present scene alone, would you say 
that Coriolanus's quarrel with the people has been ac- 
tuated by patriotism or by baser motives? 

7. What feeling is left at the end of this scene as to the 
future of Rome ? 

8. Why has the story of the fall of Coriolanus been pro- 
tracted through three scenes? 

IV, 1. 

1. Paraphrase 1-11. 

2. Point out all passages indicating that a plan of action 
is already nascent in Coriolanus's mind. 

3. Define carefully the mood in which the hero accepts his 
defeat. Does he retain our sympathy in this scene ? 



192 CORIOLANUS 



IV, 2. 



1. Whatistlie effect of this scene upon your sympathy for 
Coriolanus and his group ? 

IV, 3. 

1. What is the purpose of this scene? Does it seem 
necessary? Into what other scene might its essential 
material have been compressed ? 

IV, 4. 

1. Why does the poet reveal the hero's treachery before 
the action of Scene 5 ? 

IV, 5. 

1. Show that Aufidius makes a better impression than the 
hero in nobility and generosity of feeling. Is this mor- 
ally and aesthetically right ? What is its dramatic pur- 
pose ? The moral and dramatic aspects of this beautifully 
constructed play are inseparably united. This state- 
ment cannot be made of all of Shakespeare's greatest 
plays. 

2. Why do you think the poet framed this scene between 
the two appearances of the serving-men ? Is the scene 
within adequately reported by the third serving-man ? 
Note that this arrangement saves a stage setting for the 
banquet room and that it requires fewer actors. But 
there are other reasons. 

3. How does the action of the serving-men resemble that 
of the plebeians in other parts of the play and confirm 
Coriolanus's opinion of the common people ? 

IV, 6. 

1. Outline the gradual but swift development of the war 
tidings up to the point at which their full weight and 
import are felt by all classes. 

2. Define carefully the mood and thought of Menenius in 
this scene. Note and explain his repetition of words 
and phrases in 87 ff. 



CORIOLANUS 193 

3. Comment upon the part played by the citizens. Show 
that they only repeat former actions and confirm the 
truth of I, 1, 171 ff. 

4. What dramatic irony do you find in this scene ? 

IV, 7. 

1. Coleridge calls the passage 28-57 " the least explicable 
from the mood and full intention of the speaker of any 
in Shakespeare." He means, apparently, that he can- 
not reconcile Aufidius's envy of Coriolanus with his 
praise of him. Can you ? Note that even the lieuten- 
ant is forced to praise even while he fears the hero. 
'' For when our foes do praise, such fame speaks clear." 
How much more, then, the far nobler Aufidius ! Has 
there been sufficient characterization of Aufidius to war- 
rant us in calling his action here inconsistent ? Com- 
pare the last speech of the play. 

2. Do you feel that Aufidius or Shakespeare is speaking 
in 35-55 ? Which of the three interpretations of Corio- 
lanus's character seems most satisfactory ? Has each 
of them some element of truth ? 

3. This passage, in its amazing mastery of all resources 
of verbal expression, is worthy of a place beside the 
speeches of ^neas in Troilus and Cressida or the 
soliloquies of Hamlet. Paraphrase it carefully in the 
fewest possible words but rendering every shade of 
thought of the original. How does your number of 
words compare with that of Shakespeare ? 

4. What two main purposes did the poe| have in this scene? 

V,l, 

1. Outline the thought and motives of Menenius in 1-62. 

2. How are 47b-58 in harmony with the speaker's char- 
acter ? Do VfQ expect him to succeed ? 

V,2. 
1. Note resemblances between the situation and action pre- 
sented here and those of // Henry JV, V, 5. Account 
for differences. 



194 CORIOLANUS 

2. Since the action of this and the preceding scene leads 
to nothing, why was it presented ? What is its effect 
upon our estimate of the action of Scene 3 ? 

3. Coriolanus took no force of nien with him when he left 
Rome. He leads only one half of Aufidius's army, the 
whole of which has been beaten by Rome. What is the 
effect, then, of Rome's consternation and its successive 
appeals to him ? Why would such a situation be impos- 
sible in modern warfare ? Why was it possible under 
the conditions of mediaeval warfare which, of course, 
Shakespeare had primarily in mind ? 

V,3. 

1. Outline Volumnia's appeal. What conquers Coriolanus? 

2. Does Coriolanus's decision do him credit or is his pres- 
ent action morally neutral, necessitated by faults and 
actions lying farther back ? 

3. Considering the suspense, emotional intensity, and inter- 
play of character in this scene, do you regard it as on 
the whole the most brilliant and memorable scene in 
the play? Is its preeminence due to the admirable 
situation which was given to the poet by history or 
legend, or is it due to his masterly handling of that sit- 
uation ? 

V, 4 and 5. 

1. What is the dramatic purpose of these scenes and what 
is their bearing upon the events of the last scene ? 

2. In what earlier passage have we observed something 
like this gradual transpiring of important news ? What 
psychological or aesthetic explanation of the device can 
you offer ? 

V,6. 
1. With 85-90 compare III, 1, 86-90, and III, 3, 65-73, 
and comment. Show how Aufidius's plan resembles 
throughout and in detail the plan with which the trib- 
unes were successful. Is this done in order to show 
that the hero has not changed, has not learned from 



CORIOLANUS 195 

his first lesson, and that, indeed, he cannot or will not 
be taught, in this life ? 

2. How do the charges made hj Aufidius in 91-101 affect 
your sympathies ? Why is this necessary at this point ? 

3. Is the death of the hero brought about by the natural 
outworking of character or by chance ? Is this essential 
to tragic effect ? 



ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. Learn the main facts regarding the lives of Octavius 
Caesar, Lepidus, Antony, Sextus Pompeius, Enobar- 
bus, Maecenas, Cleopatra, Octavia. See Furness's Va- 
riorum Edition, pp. 1-9. 

2. Criticize the structure of the play, especially of Acts 
II, III, and IV. Explain this by referring to the na- 
ture of the poet's material and compare similar effects 
in his chronicle plays. 

3. Discuss Boas's remark : " The multiplicity of details 
is bewildering and no single event stands out boldly as 
the pivot on which the catastrophe turns." Do you 
discover here the common critical error of assuming 
that one knows beforehand the effect which the artist 
desired or should have desired to produce ? 

4. What effect has this same ''bewildering multiplicity" 
in producing the play's surpasshig interest, its amazing 
richness and variety ? Are we left in any doubt as to 
what series of events produces the catastrophe ? 

5. Why would it have been a grave artistic error to 
have made the action and structure of this play sim- 
ple, clear, obvious, like that, say, of Juliets Ccesar? 
Shakespeare attended no school for dramatists except 
that which he found on the public stage. He did not 
run all of his dramatic material into one common mould 
as the academic critics of his own and of later times 
would have had him do, but each new story took the 
dramatic form and structure which suited it best. The 
present play has the wavering fluidity of life and it is 
for this reason, chiefly, that age cannot wither it or 
custom stale its infinite variety. 



ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 197 

*6. Does the play preserve any one of the three Aristotelian 
"unities"? Compare its structure with that of Dry- 
den's splendidly beautiful reworking of the same ma- 
terial along "classical" lines — All for Love. What 
does Dryden gain by excision, compression, and reshap- 
ing ? What does he lose ? 

7. Trace carefully the series of events leading to Antony's 
death. What is the immediate cause of his suicide ? 
What elements of the play justify the name " tragedy " ? 

8. In Acts III and IV note evidences of Cleopatra's 
power over Antony making for his ruin and downfall. 
Is she anywhere clearly untrue to him ? Is she any- 
where a help and strength to him ? 

9. What, exactly, was the nature of the love of Antony 
and Cleopatra, judging from their age, their charac- 
ters, and all other indications ? Compare the love of 
Romeo and Juliet. 

10. Write a careful study of Cleopatra, based upon de- 
monstrable facts, not fancies or vague generalities, and 
relying upon citations from the text for support. 

11. Select ten passages that seem to you to have extraordi- 
nary poetic splendor and beauty. Memorize at least 
twenty-five lines. 

12. State in a few words the effect of this play upon you. 
If you were never to read it again, what feature of it 
would shine longest in your memory ? In what respects 
does it stand among the greatest things of Shake- 
speare's creation ? In what ways is it inferior to his 
best mature work ? 



DETAILED QUESTIONS 

1,1. 

1. How is the action of the play linked to past time in 
this scene? 

2. What is the purpose of Cleopatra in 19-24a ? 

3. Do you consider the stage direction for 1. 37, first made 
by Pope, appropriate to the situation ? 



198 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 

4. Paraphrase 41-42. 

5. What are the relations existing between Antony and 
Cleopatra, according to the indications of this scene ? 
Does it indicate fairly well the relations which they 
continue to hold toward each other throughout the play? 

6. What exposition in this scene ? 

1,2 

1. The play opens in the year 40 B.C. Charmian is about 
eighteen years old. Compare the Gospel, according to 
Saint Matthew, II, 8, and comment upon the possible 
reference in 25-30. What sort of effect was the poet 
trying for in this obscure reference ? Why did he make 
it so obscure ? 

2. Compare 1. 89 with 1. 91 and comment upon Cleopatra's 
method of treating Antony. What may be her object 
in this ? 

3. Comment upon the manner in which Antony receives 
the news from Rome. What is indicated regarding his 
character and present frame of mind ? 

4. Comment upon 1. 150. 

5. Why does Antony take just this time, 1. 162, to an- 
nounce the death of Fulvia ? Compare 1. 183. 

6. What is the attitude of Enobarbus in these speeches ? 
What is he trying to do ? 

7. Into what divisions does this scene fall ? What is the 
function of each ? 

1,3. 

1. Do you agree with Charmian or with Cleopatra in 
1-12? 

2. How should the words " married woman," 1. 20, be 
spoken by the actress ? What is the whole weight of 
meaning that Cleopatra gives to them ? 

3. Has there been an earlier statement of the idea in 27- 
29 ? Does Cleopatra speak sincerely here ? 

4. What is the etymology of " scrupulous," 1. 48 ? What 
is its meaning here ? 

5. Which wins in the encounter of this scene ? Why ? 



ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 199 

1,4. 

1. Paraphrase and explain 49b-50. 

2. In what sense is Antony hero of this play ? Compare 
the heroic qualities of Romeo or of Othello. What char- 
acter endangers this position of Antony in the specta- 
tor's sympathy ? Is the danger avoided in the present 
scene ? How ? 

3. What is the dramatic effect of 55b-71a ? Comment 
upon the character of Caesar as shown in this speech 
and scene. 

4. What exposition in this scene ? 



1. Trace carefully the emotional changes mirrored by the 
words of 19-34. 

2. Is Cleopatra sincere in 66-75 ? 

3. AVhat is the purpose and function of this scene ? 

11,1. 

1. W^hat is the character of Pompey as shown here ? 

2. Are Menas and Menecrates distinguished carefully 
from each other ? 

3. What information is given in this scene ? 

4. Consider Johnson's suggestion that this scene might 
have been Scene 6 of Act I. 

11,2. 

1. In what different ways does Shakespeare use the word 
" stomach " ? Compare 1. 9. 

2. Compare Lepidus's attitude in 1-14 with the statement 
made in II, 1, 14-16. What is his character ? 

3. What action accompanies 1. 2'7a ? Compare I, 1, 37. 
Remember that most of the " business " in Shakespeare 
rests upon the surmises of editors and upon a misty 
tradition. 

4. Paraphrase and explain 45-54. 

5. Characterize the conference between Caesar and An- 
tony. 



200 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 

6. Which of the two is in the right ? Which makes the 
better use of the points in his favor ? Which makes 
the better impression ? 

7. Do you think Dryden did well in All for Love in giv- 
ing the substance of Enobarbus's description of Cleo- 
patra to Antony ? Was Hartley Coleridge right in 
tliinking Enobarbus not a sufficiently " interesting per- 
son " to speak these glowing lines ? 

8. We are supposed to have Cleopatra moving and speak- 
ing before us. Then what advantage is gained by this 
long description of her person and character ? 

9. What are the divisions of this scene ? What is the pur- 
pose of the second division ? 

II, 3. 

1. What phase of Antony's character is illustrated in 
5-7 ? Is the metaphor employed in these lines suited 
to the social position of the speaker ? 

2. What is the significance of the entrance of the sooth- 
sayer at just this point ? How does the soothsayer hap- 
pen to be here ? 

3. Is it the grammar or the sense which is at fault in 11- 
12a ? What is the meaning of " motion " in 1. 14 ? 

4. With 17-23 compare Macbeth III, 1, 56-57. 

5. Compare 39-40 with 5-7. What has caused the change ? 
Should this cause have been sufficient ? 

II, 4. 

1. Purpose of this scene ? 

11,5. 

1. Many critics consider the reference to billiards in 1. 3 a 
glaring anachronism. Supposing it is an anachronism, 
is it at all serious ? There is good reason for tliinking 
that the game was known in Greece in 400 B.C. 

2. What phase of the speaker's character is shown in 10- 
15? 

3. Why does Cleopatra repeatedly interrupt the messenger, 
continually surmising the worst ? 



ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 201 

4. Is her treatment of the messenger tragic or comic ma- 
terial ? What effect has it here ? Why ? 

II, 6. 

1. Is this scene interesting in and for itself? How would the 
material it contains be handled by a modern dramatist ? 

II, 7. 

1. This is a scene which the older type of criticism, based 
upon Aristotle, would have condemned as lacking in 
" decorum." According to this idea, a king should al- 
ways act in a royal way on the stage and a soldier like 
a soldier, a beggar like a beggar. Sliakespeare had prob- 
ably heard of this canon of the schools, but he disre- 
gards it whenever it suits his ])urpose to do so. Richard 
II acts like a child, Falstaff like a coward, and Autol- 
ycus like a Bohemian poet. Do you find anything 
essentially inartistic in the presentation of the great 
Romans of this scene under the influence of drink ? 

2. How has wine affected the manner of each of those 
present ? How is the character of each brought out ? 

3. What is accomplished by the scene ? 

III, 1. 

1. What is the function of this scene ? 

Ill, 2. 

1. What is the fitness of Agrippa's reference to the " Ara- 
bian bird " ? 

2. In what mood are 6-20 spoken ? 

3. Does it seem natural that Agrippa and Enobarbus 
should speak thus of Lepidus ? 

4. With 28-33 compare II, 6, 128-130. 

5. Explain 47-50. 

6. What does Octavia tell Csesar ? Compare 59b-61a. 

7. Comment upon the character and mood of Enobarbus 
as shown in 50-59. 

8. In the Folios^ 1. 59 reads " Believe 't till I weepe too." 
Does this reading give better sense than the reading 



202 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 

'^ wept," first suggested by Theobald ? Argue in favor 
of one or the other. 
9. What action accompanies 61-64 ? 
10. What lines from this scene do you consider most 
beautiful, without reference to the context ? 

Ill, 3. 

1. With 16-17 compare King Lear, V, 3, 272-273. 
Comment. 

2. Do you notice in Charmian's speeches any change 
from her former attitude toward Cleopatra ? Can you 
account for it ? 

3. What change has there been in the messenger since his 
last appearance ? 

4. Should Cleopatra have been shrewd enough to account 
for this change and to allow for it ? Why is she not ? 
What obscures her mind ? 

5. Is there any evidence that Shakespeare was thinking 
of Queen Elizabeth in his treatment of Cleopatra in 
this scene ? 

6. What is the dramatic effect of Charmian's speeches to- 
ward the close of the scene ? 

Ill, 4. 
1. What is Antony's purpose here ? To soothe and quiet 
Octavia or to prepare for desertion of her ? Support 
either opinion by line references. 

Ill, 5. 

1. Why are the first lines in prose ? Account for the 
change to verse. 

2. What is the advantage of presenting the material of 
this scene in narration rather than in action ? 

3. What " moral lesson " may be drawn from the fate of 
Lepidus ? 

Ill, 6. 
1. Does Csesar seem just and reasonable, according to his 
own account, in 24-37 .'' 



ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 203 

2. Do you agree with Corson's opinion that the extrava- 
gance of Csesar's language in 4:3 ff. is due to insincer- 
ity ? To what other causes might it be due ? 

3. What element in Caesar's character makes it possible 
for him to claim so much honor as his sister's due and 
at the same time to treat her so hardly ? 

4. Note and comment upon Octavia's indifference, 76b- 
78a, to the list of royal names Caesar speaks with such 
evident pleasure. 

5. In what ways are 81-85 a fitting speech of such a man 
as Caesar to a woman ? 

6. What is the effect of 86a and 89b-90a ? 

7. By what means is Octavia finally silenced and her 
whole mission brought to nought ? 

8. Basing your judgment upon this scene alone, state the 
most important ways in wliich Octavia contrasts with 
Cleopatra. 

9. By what means could a woman win any large measure 
of freedom and power in the ancient world? Does Shake- 
speare show Cleopatra employing these means ? Does 
Octavia fail because she cannot or will not employ them ? 

Ill, 7. 

1. What is indicated by Enobarbus's repetitions in his 
first speeches ? 

2. Contrast the claims made by Cleopatra m ith those made 
by Octavia in the preceding scene ? Which is nearer 
right, according to modern standards ? What did Shake- 
speare think about this ? 

3. Why is Antony determined to fight at sea ? 

4. Point out two speeches in this scene in which Antony's 
folly is probed to the quick. Show by reference to other 
parts of the play that the person who speaks them may 
be regarded as a "chorus character," or one who 
speaks, to a certain degree, the mind of the dramatist. 

Ill, 8 and 9. 
1. Compare the military manner of Caesar with that of 
Antony in the previous scene. 



204 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 

2. For what theatrical effect did the poet design these 
short scenes ? What peculiarity of his stage made them 
possible ? How were they acted on his stage ? How 
acted on the modern stage ? 

Ill, 10. 

1. What advantage is gained by the narrative method 
employed here ? 

2. Study The Tempest, I, 1, and suggest another and 
possibly more telling way of presenting the material of 
the scene. 

3. What difficulty do you find in understanding and inter- 
preting the flight of Antony ? Is this difficulty due to 
the use of the narrative method ? 

Ill, 11. 

1. Judging from Antony's horror at his deed, does it not 
seem that he must have undergone a considerable 
struggle at the time it was committed ? Does this reveal 
another fault in the method employed in Scene 10 ? 

2. What action do you imagine as accompanying 25-35 ? 

3. How does Antony apologize before Cleopatra for his 
act ? Is he sincere ? 

4. Does Antony's closing speech, 69 jT"-? seem entirely noble ? 

Ill, 12. 
1. What is Caesar's opinion of women, as shown here? 
Has it been fully indicated before ? Is it significant ? 
In what other plays has Shakespeare characterized 
men by showing their attitudes towards women ? 

Ill, 13. 

1. Do you wholly agree with 3-12 ? What is Enobarbus's 
purpose in these lines ? What is the dramatic purpose 
of the lines ? Can you explain 29-37a in the same way ? 

2. Paraphrase 31b-34a. Comment fully upon 1.46a. Does 
it in any way affect the illusion of reality? What is the 
speaker's place in the story ? He is one of the most 
baffling characters in Shakespeare. 



ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 205 

3. Is Enobarbus's change of sides well handled? Do you 
fully understand his motives? Ave the character and 
motives of Enobarbus clear at any time ? 

4. Is Antony's treatment of the servitors so exceptional as 
Enobarbusand Cleopatra seem to think it? Whatotherex- 
amples do you find of his friendly treatment of inferiors ? 

5. Comment closely upon the character of Cleopatra as 
shown in 46-85. 

6. Is 195-201 a statement of the poet's judgment upon 
Antony which he wishes us to adopt ? 

7. Is there something especially ugly and displeasing in 
the portraiture of Antony and Cleopatra in this scene ? 

8. What outcome of Antony's fortunes do we now expect ? 
How have we been led to expect this ? 

IV, 2. 

1. Carefully describe Antony's mood. 

IV, 4. 

1. What is there especially beautiful and pleasing in this 
scene ? By what means does the poet contrive to restore 
our sympathy to Antony and Cleopatra ? Why does he 
do so at just this point ? 

IV, 5. 

1. Is Enobarbus's action here in harmony with his char- 
acter as previously shown? Comment upon Antony's 
acceptance of the news. 

IV, 7 and 8. 

1. What dramatic effect is made by representing Antony 
as victorious on the first day ? 

IV, 9. 

1. Has Enobarbus been presented as a man of emotional 
intensity sufficient to make it possible for him to die of 
heartbreak ? 

2. Does the knowledge of his death and of its cause influ- 
ence your opinion of Antony in any way ? 



206 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA' 

IV, 14. 

1. What elements of this scene combine to make it of par- 
ticularly intense and thrilling interest ? 

2. By what means does Antony, here and earlier, win our 
love even though our respect for him may be nearly or 
quite gone ? 

IV, 15. 

*1. Describe the Elizabethan stage setting of this scene. 

2. What is the source of the pathos in 18-21a? Note 
especially the wonderful rhythm and cadence of the 
speech — a cadence and rhythm in which the normal 
beat of the blank verse line plays but a minor part. 
This passage affords an admirable example of Shake- 
speare's later style at its best. The rhythm of thought 
and emotion dominates whole sentences, constantly 
threatening to overwhelm the steady beat of the deca- 
syllabics but never quite doing so. Memorize these 
lines. 

3. Comment upon the merits of this scene as a stage 
spectacle or tableau. 

4. Select two or three passages, aside from the supreme 
one noted above, in which the expression seems as near 
perfection as words can be made to go — the verse 
throbbing in every syllable beneath the weight of pas- 
sion which it has to bear. 

5. What other elements not yet mentioned contribute to 
make this scene one of the most powerfully affecting 
in Shakespeare? 

6. What change in Cleopatra is caused by and partially 
revealed in the events of the scene ? 

7. With the word "sport" in 1. 32 compare II, 5, 10-15. 
There is a piercing irony here which the poet's audi- 
ence must have missed and which the reader may 
easily overlook. 

V,l. 
1. AVhat dramatic purpose is served by showing Caesar's 
sorrow at the death of Antony ? 



ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 207 

V,2. 

1. What is the effect intended in Cleopatra's praise of 
Antony ? 

2. What is the effect of the episode of Seleucus ? 

3. How does 215b-221a increase the "illusion of the 
stage " ? How would 1. 220 especially have this effect 
upon Shakespeare's stage? 

4. Can you justify on aesthetic grounds the introduction 
of comic material at this point ? Compare the Grave- 
digger Scene in Hamlet and the Drunken Porter in 
Macbeth. 

5. What is the secret of the strange, compelling power of 
311c-313a? What double contrast do the lines sug- 
gest? 

6. Follow closely the parts of Charmian and Iras. Why 
and how does Iras die ? When did Cliarmian first 
poison herself ? Complete Charmian's sentence broken 
off at 1. 322. 

7. Do you accept the opinion of Bernard Shaw that the 
unquestionable sublimity of this scene is a " theatrical 
sublimity " and that its pathos is a " stage pathos " ? 
Even if we find these statements largely true, we need 
not despair. The Shavian type of mind was not widely 
represented in Shakespeare's audiences. Even to-day, 
the man who can smile disdainfully at this mimic sor- 
row is not to be envied. 



THE TEMPEST 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

1. Enumerate the actions of the play. Which is the main 
action ? What important contrasts do you find between 
the actions ? Point out the more important character 
contrasts. 

2. Point out and comment upon the large amount of spec- 
tacle in the play. Note also the many references to 
music and the frequent songs. Show that the play 
is vaguely similar to the masque, a form of drama in 
great vogue when The Tempest was written. 

3. This play was produced at court during the festivities 
celebrating the marriage of Princess Elizabeth, 1613. 
Elizabeth was then fifteen years of age. From I, 2, 
40-41, 53-54, estimate the age of Miranda. What is 
the possible inference ? 

4. Do you tliink that the figure of Prospero may have 
been drawn as a portrait, very flattering indeed, of 
King James ? How does this possibility recall A Mid- 
sumiiier Nighfs Dream ? In what other respects are 
the two plays comparable ? 

5. In what sense or senses is this play " romantic " ? In 
what ways is it " classical " ? 

*6. How much time elapses during the action? How many 
places are represented ? Compare Hen7^y V or Antony 
and Cleopatra in these two respects. To what part of 
a Greek drama does the narrative of Prospero in I, 2, 
correspond ? 
7. Select several passages showing Shakespeare's " over- 
loaded style." Select other passages in which the 
thought itself, apart from its expression, is unusually 
profound and difficult to follow. Do you find it hard 
to follow the thread of the story ? Does the poet seem 



THE TEMPEST 209 

forgetful of his audience in any parts or aspects of the 
drama? Are there any parts or aspects of the play in 
which he seems to be writing for himself as audience, 
as a lyric poet may ? 

8. Cite all passages bearing upon the view that Shake- 
speare was thinking of himself in drawing the charac- 
ter and situation of Prosper©. Form your own opinion 
in regard to this matter. 

9. Cite all passages bearing upon the view that in this play 
Shakespeare bade farewell to his art, in an allegorical 
fashion. Note especially Prospero's treatment of Ariel. 
What would be the function or significance of Ariel in 
such an allegory ? Of Caliban ? Of Miranda and Fer- 
dinand ? Was Shakespeare much given to the autobio- 
graphical or to the allegorical method — at least in his 
plays ? Is there anything peculiar in the circumstances 
under which this play was written that may have 
offered special temptation ? 

10. Discuss the function of the supernatural in the play. 
In how far does it determine human action and in how 
far does it merely objectify the workings of the mind 
and conscience ? Compare its function in Macbeth. 

11. To what extent does Shakespeare embody in this play 
his final philosophy of life ? Outline this philosophy, as 
you deduce it from the play, as clearly and simply as 
possible. Is this the best way to study Shakespeare — 
taking him as a moralist, a " man with a message " ? 
Does he seem to have thought of himself as a preacher ? 
Was he primarily concerned with an effort to answer 
the great unanswerable questions or with an attempt to 
ask them in the most telling and impressive way ? 



DETAILED QUESTIONS 

1,1. 

1. Collect from this entire scene nautical terms not likely 
to be familiar to a landsman. Where did Shakespeare 
probably learn them ? 



210 THE TEMPEST 

2. Describe as accurately as you can the situation of the 
vessel and the measures taken. 

3. How would this scene have been staged in Shakespeare's 
theater ? 

4. Are you made to sympathize with the mariners or with 
the courtiers ? Is this usual in Shakespeare ? Why is it 
done here ? 

5. What is the emotional effect of the scene ? How may 
it have been enhanced in acting ? How might the effect 
of 64-66 have been increased ? 

1,2. 

1. Comment fully upon the effect of 1-2 and of " some 
noble creature," 1. 7. 

2. What is the effect upon the audience of Prospero's re- 
peated appeals to Miranda for attention ? Does Shake- 
speare do this because he knows he is not managing his 
exposition as skillfully as usual ? 

3. Arrange 26-32 in intelligible prose, preserving the 
wording as far as possible. 

4. Paraphrase 66-77. 

5. Paraphrase 88-105. 

*6. Try to account for the difficulty of these passages. Does 
it lie chiefly in the expression or style, as in Browning, 
or chiefly in the thought, as in Meredith's more cryptic 
poems? Does it seem right that a difficult thought 
should be clothed in a difficult style ? At any rate, after 
making all allowance for the inheritance and environ- 
ment of Miranda, we may feel that these speeches are 
somewhat too overpowering to address to a girl in 
her early 'teens. The crown and flower of wisdom is 
simplicity, as Prospero and his creator should have 
known. 

7. Is there an adequate motive for the harshness of Pros- 
pero toward Ariel and Caliban ? Is he fair to them ? 

8. Note and explain the differences between the punish- 
ments with which these two servants are threatened. 

9. Are 387-395 pure soliloquy ? Compare the first speech 
of Richard III. 



THE TEMPEST 211 

10. Comment fully upon the effectiveness of the situation 
developed in 409 ff. 

11. Are the thought and language of Miranda in all respects 
what you think appropriate to the circumstances ? 

12. Criticize the situation presented in 1. 466 and stage 
direction. Show, if possible, that this is not a dramatic 
situation. This passage illustrates the fact that true 
drama cannot use and show the supernatural as the 
spring and efficient cause of human action. 

13. What are the divisions of this scene ? 

14. What exposition do you find in the scene ? Is it deftly 
introduced in all instances ? Discuss especially the in- 
troduction of the long narrative of Prospero. 

11,1. 

1. Do 1-184 seem in harmony with the spirit of the play ? 
Why ? 

2. Differentiate the characters shown in these lines. 

3. How does this passage prepare for the later conspiracy 
against Gonzalo and Alonso ? Why is the conspiracy 
against Alonso introduced ? What connection has it 
with the chief characters and events of the play ? 

4. Antonio is shown here treacherous, cowardly, and ready 
to repeat his former sin with less than his former mo- 
tive, adding to his own guilt the guilt of tempting an- 
other. Compare the same man a few hours later, at the 
end of the play. Compare a similar eleventh-hour con- 
version in ^s You Like It. 

11,2. 

1. Distinguish Trinculo and Stephano. 

2. Explain Trinculo's change in attitude toward Caliban 
after 1. 147. 

Ill, 1. 

1. Compare 1-15 with Ferdinand's earlier soliloquy. 

2. What preparation has been made for Ferdinand's love 
at first sight ? For Miranda's ? Is this preparation 
adequate ? 



212 THE TEMPEST 

3. Are Miranda's words, actions, and thoughts in this scene 
what you would have imagined as appropriate ? 

4. Compare I, 2, 445, with 50-52. Comment. 

Ill, 2. 

1. How has Stephano won the worship of Caliban ? What 
is the effect of this worship upon Stephano ? Can you 
see any allegorical or symbolic meaning in this ? 

2. Upon what elements does the comic effect of 51-90 
depend ? 

3. Are 144-152 suited to Caliban? 

4. Why are Caliban's speeches in verse ? Compare II, 2, 
1-14. 

III, 3. 

1. Show that 21-34 intensify the stage illusion of reality. 

2. How do 43-49a bear upon the circumstances under 
which they are spoken ? 

3. Paraphrase 75b-82. 

4. Note the different effects of the enchantment upon the 
several persons present. What characterization do you 
find in this? 

5. Do all those present hear the speech of Ariel ? Why ? 
Compare similar effects in Macbeth and Hamlet. 

6. Comment upon the use of spectacle and of stage devices 
in this scene. 

IV, 1. 

1. Wliy has Prospero "punished " Ferdinand at all? See 
I, 2, 450-452a. 

2. In what ways was the masque of spirits especially fitted 
for presentation at the court of James I on the occa- 
sion of his daughter's wedding? 

3. How does this masque differ in its purpose and in its 
effect upon the spectators from that in III, 3 ? 

4. What relation may 148-158 be supposed to have to 
tlie probability that The Tempest was Shakespeare's 
last play? Compare As You Like It, II, 7, 139b- 
140. 



THE TEMPEST 213 

5. Memorize 148-158. 

6. Is Prospero afraid of Caliban ? How do you explain 
his vexation when he remembers the conspiracy ? 

*7. Are 230-234 consistent with the character of Caliban ? 
Mention some of the difficulties involved in the deline- 
ation of this character. Does Browning solve these dif- 
ficulties in his " Caliban upon Setebos " more success- 
fully than Shakespeare ? 

8. Comment upon the humor in 1. 250. Is there pathos in 
it as well ? And satire ? 

9. Compare and contrast the punishment meted out to 
Caliban and his group with the punishment spoken of 
at the end of III, 3. Explain differences. 

v,i. 

1. Does the sentence in 33-50 make complete sense? 
Why ? Is the difficulty here in thought or in style ? 

2. What possibly autobiographical significance do you find 
in 33-57 ? 

3. Were there graves on the island ? See 1. 48. Does it 
seem more than possible that the poet is thinking of 
himself here rather than of Prospero ? In what sense 
do 48b-50a apply to the poet ? 

4. Paraphrase 141b-144a. 

5. Comment upon the beauty of 182-184a. Is it because 
of her ignorance that Miranda speaks so ? Does Pros- 
pero show the greatest possible wisdom in his reply ? 
The world and mankind were very old to Shakespeare 
when he wrote this play, yet they were still " beaute- 
ous," " brave," and " new " to him. It is obvious that 
Prospero is not complete Shakespeare at all points. It 
is worth remembering that at the end of his last play 
the profoundest knower of the human heart wrote : 
" How beauteous mankind is ! " The same mind that 
conceived lago and Goneril felt, at the end, that the 
world is brave and new. For it must be clear that in 
the present passage the poet speaks more of his own 
thought in the fresh and dewy surprise of Miranda than 
in the wan and weary sapience of Prospero. 



214 THE TEMPEST 

6. How was the chess game staged in Shakespeare's 
theater ? 

7. Are we asked to believe in a sudden conversion of the 
sinners in this play, as in As You Like It ? How is 
this managed and why ? 

8. Is any good purpose served by the introduction of the 
seamen at the close of the play ? What is lost by this ? 

9. Are all the actions closed and all legitimate questions 
answered by this last scene ? 



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